No abstract

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is known to have beneficial effects in the treatment of epilepsies and in the prophylaxis of affective disorders. Since increased transmembrane calcium fluxes and intracellular calcium concentrations play a key role in the generation of epilepsies and possibly also in the development of these psychiatric disorders the effects of CBZ on epileptic discharges (elicited by caffeine, penicillin and low Mg²⁺) in CA3 neurons of hippocampal slices were compared with those of the organic calcium antagonist verapamil and found to be almost the same.

Primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells (OB) derived from calvarial fragments of newborn rats and juvenile guinea pigs formed numerous gap junctions between neighboring cells in vitro. Intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow led to a staining of up to 30 adjacent cells. Parallel intracellular recordings showed that amplitudes of stimulated membrane potential changes (4-5 mV) were closely related between coupled cells. The coupling factor, which was derived from the ratio of these amplitudes, ranged between 0.1 and 0.8. The coupling factor (1) was not dependent on the membrane potential or the injected current strength; (2) strong acidosis (pH < 6.6) and hypercapnia (pCO2 > 80 mm Hg) did not affect electric or dye coupling; (3) elevation of intracellular cAMP level was ineffective; (4) rise of the extra- and intracellular Ca2+ concentration did not effect the electric coupling; (5) the anticonvulsant drugs carbamazepine and phenytoin impaired the coupling factor up to 59%. The findings show that cell-cell communication between OB via gap junctions proved stable under various conditions which, in other tissues, were found to reduce the coupling strength of gap junctions.

The poor water solubility of the antiepileptic drug (AED) carbamazepine (CBZ) is generally considered an absolute contraindication to parenteral administration in epileptic patients. However, the water solubility of CBZ can be largely enhanced through formation of an inclusion complex with an amorphous cyclodextrin derivative, 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP beta CD). We studied tolerability and pharmacokinetics of an aqueous CBZ:HP beta CD solution after intravenous (i.v.) administration in dogs. For comparison, a conventional glycofurol-based solution of CBZ was used. We also administered a commercial liquid formulation of CBZ orally (p.o.). Infusion of CBZ:HP beta CD solutions or HP beta CD "placebo" formulations i.v. was well tolerated by the animals. In contrast, infusion of CBZ:glycofurol solutions and glycofurol placebo solutions induced marked behavioral and cardiovascular adverse effects. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that glycofurol inhibited CBZ metabolism by decreasing formation of the major CBZ metabolite CBZ-10,11-epoxide (CBZ-E). With infusion of CBZ:HP beta CD 10 ml/min for 12-15 min, resulting in a CBZ dose of CBZ 5 mg/kg body weight, peak CBZ plasma levels of approximately 3.6 micrograms/ml were obtained. This relatively low peak concentration is primarily due to the rapid elimination of CBZ in dogs [half-life (t1/2) < 1 h]. Comparison of peak plasma levels determined after p.o. administration of CBZ to dogs with peak CBZ levels previously determined after p.o. administration in humans indicated that about four times higher doses are needed in dogs to attain the same peak plasma levels as in humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) on action potentials and calcium currents in cultured rat sensory spinal ganglion cells were investigated. CBZ was found to reversibly suppress the calcium-dependent components of action potentials and to reduce the amplitude of the after-hyperpolarizations, while the rising phase and the peak amplitude were hardly changed. Furthermore, CBZ caused a marked reduction in the calcium currents, which in some cells was reversible. The present findings confirm that CBZ has calcium-antagonistic properties.