Effect of dipotassium clorazepate on amygdaloid-kindling and comparison between amygdaloid- and hippocampal-kindled seizures in rats.

We examined the effect of dipotassium clorazepate (7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-2-oxo-5-phenyl-1H-1, 4-benzodiazepine-3-carboxylate potassium hydroxide), an antianxiety drug, on amygdaloid kindling and compared its effects for 7 successive days on amygdaloid- versus hippocampal-kindled seizures, using the rat kindling model of epilepsy. Dipotassium clorazepate at 5 mg/kg significantly delayed amygdaloid kindling. The contralateral cortical after-discharge duration in the dipotassium clorazepate-treated group was significantly shorter than the after-discharge duration in the amygdala in the first seven stimulations, whereas it was significantly shorter only in the first three stimulations in the control group, indicating that dipotassium clorazepate suppressed the spread of seizure activity from focus to contralateral cortex. Dipotassium clorazepate suppressed amygdaloid-kindled seizures at 2 and 5 mg/kg, while 1 mg/kg or more suppressed hippocampal-kindled seizures. Thus, differences in effective dosages in both amygdaloid- and hippocampal-kindled seizures may suggest a difference in the neuronal mechanisms involved in this kindling.