Zonisamide enhances slow sodium inactivation in Myxicola.

In voltage-clamped Myxicola giant axons Zonisamide (1,2-benzisoxazole-3-methanesulfonamide) caused a hyperpolarizing shift in the steady-state fast inactivation curve and retarded recovery from fast and slow Na+ inactivation. The effects of Zonisamide on steady-state fast inactivation could be described assuming a single binding site with a dissociation constant of 12 microM. Slow inactivation was significantly more sensitive, with a Kd of 1 microM from both steady-state and kinetic data. While these results account for anticonvulsant activity, the differential sensitivity suggests Zonisamide may also be useful in studies of the slow inactive state of the Na+ channel.