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SUBACUTE CANNABINOID TREATMENT: ANTICONVULSANT ACTIVITY AND WITHDRAWAL EXCITABILITY IN MICE
Author(s) -
KARLER RALPH,
TURKANIS STUART A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1980.tb14562.x
Subject(s) - cannabidiol , phenytoin , anticonvulsant , seizure threshold , delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol , cannabinoid , pharmacology , anesthesia , tetrahydrocannabinol , chemistry , epilepsy , medicine , cannabis , psychiatry , receptor
1 The effects of subacute treatment with cannabidiol, Δ 9 ‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 ‐THC), phenytoin and phenobarbitone on anticonvulsant activity and on withdrawal excitability in mice were compared in three electrically induced seizure‐threshold tests. 2 In the maximal electroshock‐threshold test, subacute treatment did not alter the anticonvulsant activity of cannabidiol, phenytoin or phenobarbitone, but tolerance developed to Δ 9 ‐THC. 3 In the 60 Hz electroshock‐threshold test, the activity of Δ 9 ‐THC and cannabidiol did not change, but tolerance developed to phenobarbitone, and there was an increase in sensitivity to phenytoin. 4 In the 6 Hz electroshock‐threshold test, there was an increase in sensitivity to both Δ 9 ‐THC and cannabidiol, there was tolerance to phenobarbitone, while the activity of phenytoin did not change. 5 Although tolerance developed in some of the seizure‐threshold tests to Δ 9 ‐THC and phenobarbitone, tolerance to cannabidiol and phenytoin did not develop in any of the tests. 6 Hyperexcitability followed withdrawal from only Δ 9 ‐THC (6 Hz and 60 Hz electroshock‐threshold tests) and phenobarbitone (maximal electroshock‐threshold and 60 Hz electroshock‐threshold tests). 7 The Δ 9 ‐THC withdrawal hyperexcitability suggests that the use of marihauana may jeopardize the control of seizures in epileptics.