Effect of benzodiazepine derivatives on amygdaloid-kindled convulsion.

An evaluation of the anticonvulsant effect of five kinds of benzodiazepine derivatives using amygdaloid-kindled rats yielded the following pharmacological properties of benzodiazepine derivatives: (1) Bromazepam, lorazepam and nitrazepam block the behavioral seizure response and also shorten the after-discharge duration simultaneously in both primary and secondary epileptogenic foci. (2) Diazepam has little effect on shortening the after-discharge duration at least in the primary epileptogenic focus though it blocks the behavioral seizure response. (3) Although clonazepam can block the behavioral seizure response and shorten the after-discharge duration, further investigations are necessary to define its efficacy.