ABSTRACT
It has been verified that androgene concentration in epileptic men who were treated with antiepileptic drugs is decreased and this results in a decrease in sexual activities in such patients. Although there : are many investigations regarding the effects of antileptic drugs on the rate of serum androgenes and particularly testosteron, little is known about the probable effects of androgenes on epileptic seizures. In this study the effects of plasma level of testosteron on epileptiform seizures in three cases [normal, increased and decreased] induced with Pentylentetrazole [PTZ] in Wistar male rats were investigated. Wistar male rats with similar response and sesitivity to PTZ and epileptiform seizures were randomly assigned to the five following: groups [n=8 for each group]. 1[st] exprimental group: Intramuscular injection of testosteron [5 mg/Kg BW] and after 2 hours intraperitoneal injection of PTZ [25mg/Kg BW/for max. 3 times]; 2[nd] exprimental group: treatment with testosteron [0.5 mg/Kg BW] for 10 days and injections of PTZ thereafter; control group for 1[st] and 2[nd] experimental rats where they received sesame oil and then PTZ in a protocol precisely similar to the 1[st] and 2[nd] groups; 3[rd] exprimental group: PTZ injections and recording of epileptiform convulsions before gonadectomy [as control] and repeat of PTZ injections after 10 days. The last protocol was performed in two groups: gonadectomized, without any testosteron injections, and gonadectomized but with one dose of testoteron. The results show that increase in serum testosteron level does not affect epileptiform convulsions, whereas the reduction of testosteron level increases the partial seizures [p<0.001] and duration of tonic-clonic seizures [p<0.05]. Results of this study show that testosteron has an anticonvulsant effect and this effect might be through neurosteroid metabolites, where these metabolites affect on GABA A receptor complex