Morton J D, Howell G A, Frederickson C J
Laboratory for Neurobiology, University of Texas, Richardson 75083-0688.
Epilepsia. 1990 Mar-Apr;31(2):139-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.1990.tb06298.x.
Several lines of evidence implicate zinc in the pathogenesis of epileptic seizures, and administration of zinc salts has been shown to affect seizure susceptibility. In the present work, we studied the effects of subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of ZnCl2 on seizures induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) kainic acid (10 mg/kg) in rats and by noise (80-120 dB) in the DBA/2J mouse. Previous administration of zinc salt (20-200 mg/kg) substantially reduced the frequency of noise-induced running fits, clonic and tonic seizures, and deaths in mice, but had no significant effect on the incidence or severity of kainic acid-induced seizures in rats. Together with findings in the literature, our results suggest that zinc plays multiple, sometimes antagonistic roles in seizure development.
