Generalized penicillin epilepsy in the cat and the brain uptake of carbamazepine

Carbamazepine (CBZ) brain uptake was determined in cats rendered epileptic by administration of 250,000 IU penicillin/kg intramuscularly, and the results were compared with those in a control group. CBZ penetration in the brain was significantly different in the epileptic cats, the uptake of the drug in the generalized epileptic brain being decreased and delayed, although substantial binding occurred also in this case. Plasma and CSF levels behaved similarly in normal and epileptic cats. Arguably the impaired CBZ brain uptake was due to the epileptic activity itself, which per se can be responsible for marked inhibition of protein synthesis, thus modifying the proven ability of CBZ to bind to phospholipid and protein components of neuronal cells.