Chronic focal epileptiform discharges induced by injection of iron into rat and cat cortex.

A single injection of 5 or 10 microliters of ferrous or ferric chloride into rat or cat sensorimotor cortex resulted in chronic recurrent focal paroxysmal electroencephalographic discharges as well as behavioral convulsions and electrical seizures. Recurrent focal epileptiform discharge caused by cortical injection of iron salts suggests that the development of human posttraumatic epilepsy may depend, in part, on the neurochemical alterations induced by the principal metallic ions found in whole blood.