Treatment with AZD7325, a compound that stimulates the activity of a specific type of receptor in the brain, has a seizure-protective effect in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome, a study has found.
The study was published in The Journal of Physiology.
In this study, a group of researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, set out to test the effects of AZD7325, a potentiator of a subtype of GABAA receptors containing the alpha 2 or 3 subunits, in different strains of a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. Of note, GABAA receptors are composed of numerous different subunits, which determine the receptors’ affinity to certain molecules, among other properties.
Treatment with AZD7325 significantly increased the temperature threshold animals were able to withstand without experiencing any seizures during an hyperthermia-induced seizure test. This seizure-protective effect was present in all three doses tested (10 mg/kg; 17.8 mg/kg; and 31.6 mg/kg) and was not associated with sedative side effects.