Carnitine
Pretreatment Can Partially Change the
Excitability of the Immature Nervous Tissue
D. MAREŠOVÁ, H.
RAUCHOVÁ1, K. JANDOVÁ, I.
VALKOUNOVÁ,
J. KOUDELOVÁ, S. TROJAN
Institute of Physiology, First Faculty
of Medicine, Charles University and 1Institute of
Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech
Republic and Center for Experimental
Cardiovascular Research, Prague, Czech Republic
Received November 9,
2000
Accepted January 3, 2001
Summary
The
possible protective action of L-carnitine on
neuronal excitability was studied in 21-day-old
male Wistar rats with implanted electrodes.
Administration of L-carnitine did not change the
elicitation and duration of the epileptic
seizures (cortical afterdischarges, ADs) in rats
under normobaric oxygen atmosphere conditions.
However, in animals exposed to 30 min hypobaric
hypoxia the duration of the ADs was shortened
after the second, fourth and sixth stimulation
(in comparison with the first evoked ADs) while
carnitine-treated rats retained their neuronal
excitability and the duration of ADs was
shortened only after the third stimulation.
Key
words
Carnitine
treatment · Epileptic seizures · Hypobaric
hypoxia · Neuronal excitability · Rat
Reprint
requests
H.
Rauchová, Institute of Physiology, Academy of
Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083,
142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic, e-mail: rauchova@biomed.cas.cz
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