The Synergistic Effect of Fluoxetine, Buspirone, and Sumatriptan with Sodium Valproate and Phenobarbitone in Experimental Models of Convulsion http://www.doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v7i4.24

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common brain disorders, affecting at least 50 million persons worldwide. Antiepileptic’s have several dose-dependent side effects, necessitating a dose reduction or addition of an adjunct therapy. This study investigates the anticonvulsant activity of low dose phenobarbitone and sodium valproate when combined with buspirone, sumatriptan and fluoxetine. Mice were randomly divided into five groups; group I were treated with 0.2 ml of distilled water, group II were administered 20 mg/kg fluoxetine and 150 mg/kg sodium valproate, group III were administered 20 mg/kg sumatriptan and 150 mg/kg sodium valproate, group IV were administered 5 mg/kg buspirone and 150 mg/kg sodium valproate while group V were administered 150mg/kg of sodium valproate. One hour later, 70 mg/kg pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) was intraperitoneally administered to all mice. The onset of central nervous system (CNS) activity and percentage protection were recorded. The above was repeated using phenobarbitone (15 mg/kg). For strychnine (STN)-induced convulsion, the procedure was repeated with 1 mg/kg strychnine used in place of PTZ. For maximal electroshock shock -induced convulsion, mice were subjected to electroshock current of 50 mA for 0.2 seconds after one hour of administering the drugs as done in the other methods. Sumatriptan and sodium valproate combination significantly delayed the onset of CNS activity when compared with the negative control (p<0.05) in PTZ-induced convulsion. Fluoxetine and buspirone in combination with sodium valproate significantly delayed the onset of CNS activity (p<0.0001) against STN-induced convulsion. The different drugs in combination with phenobarbitone protected the mice against MES and PTZ-induced convulsion.