Possible Interaction: Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid and Phenobarbital

“Furthermore, gamma-aminobutyric acid is excitatory early in brain development; therefore, treatment of neonatal seizures with phenobarbital must be cautious.”

“The efficacy of phenobarbital in potentiating currents elicited by a saturating concentration of GABA is about 3 times higher for the mutated receptor than for the wild type.”

“ Acute phenobarbital treatment resulted in the decrease of GABA and glutamate contents and the increase of taurine content.”

“These results indicate that GABA participates, at least in part, in phenobarbital action and abstinence syndrome may arise from a deficiency of GABA.”

“ Phenobarbital enhances the action of GABA with some reduction of repetitive firing and reduces excitation in reticular formation neuronal networks.”

“ Phenobarbital produces its anti-epileptic actions by increasing the inhibitory drive of γ-aminobutyric acid.”

“While the endogenous GABA content in … rats was not altered, phenobarbital … GABA content of both intact and DSP-4-lesioned rats by approximately 40% in the hippocampus and by approximately 20% … content by approximately 15-30% but only in the hippocampus and brainstem of both intact and lesioned rats.”

“ Phenobarbital and phenytoin prevented the decrease of GABA but did not reverse the inhibition of GAD.4.The results suggest a role played by the transmitter pool of GABA in the convulsant action of chemoconvulsants and in the anticonvulsant effect of antiepileptics clinically used in petit mal epilepsy.”

“ Phenobarbital administration decreased GABA level only at the higher concentration.”

“with phenobarbital (10 mg/kg) and clonazepam (0.5 mg/kg) significantly reversed seizure-induced changes in aspartate and GABA concentrations while valproate (300 mg/kg) significantly reduced aspartate concentrations further.”

“PB and PHB were substantially more potent in enhancing the response to 1 microM GABA (EC50 values, 94 microM and 0.89 mM, respectively).”