Influence of carbenoxolone on the anticonvulsant efficacy of conventional antiepileptic drugs against audiogenic seizures in DBA/2 mice

Carbenoxolone, the succinyl ester of glycyrrhetinic acid, is an inhibitor of 11beta-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase and gap junctional intercellular communication. It is currently used in clinical treatment of ulcer diseases. Systemic administration of carbenoxolone (1-40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) was able to produce a dose-dependent decrease in DBA/2 audiogenic seizure severity score. Glycyrrhizin, an analogue of carbenoxolone inactive at the gap-junction level, was unable to affect audiogenic seizures at doses up to 30 mg/kg. In combination with conventional antiepileptic drugs, carbenoxolone, 0.5 mg/kg, i.p., which per se did not significantly affect the occurrence of audiogenic sei…