Interaction of anticonvulsant drugs with adenosine receptors in the central nervous system.

The anticonvulsant carbamazepine inhibits binding of 1 nM [3H]N6-cyclohexyladenosine to rat cerebral and cerebellar A1 adenosine receptors with an IC50 value of about 50 microM. This concentration is well within that expected for therapeutic regimens. Other anticonvulsants such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, valproate sodium, and ethosuximide had little or no effect on binding, while theophylline and caffeine caused marked inhibition. Carbamazepine had no marked effect on cyclic AMP levels in guinea pig cerebral cortical or hippocampal slices, but was a weak inhibitor (IC50 about 200 microM) of 2-chloroadenosine-elicited accumulations of cyclic AMP via an A2 adenosine receptor in cortical slices. Carbamazepine is thus a somewhat selective ligand for A1 adenosine receptors in brain. The nature of its activity at those receptors is unclear, but its lack of central stimulant effects contrasts to the stimulant properties of A1 adenosine receptor antagonist such as caffeine and theophylline.