[Modifying action of estradiol and progesterone on epileptic activity of the rat brain]. / Modifitsiruiushchee deistvie éstradiola i progesterona na épilepticheskuiu aktivnost' golovnogo mozga krys.

The effect of estradiol and progesterone on the activity of 3 regulatory enzymes of glycolysis (hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase) in the brain of female rats was studied in the initial phase of hormonal action. Steroids were capable of modifying epileptic activity caused by pentetrazol, the action of estradiol being epileptogenic, that of progesterone anticonvulsant. Hormone action modifying epileptic activity, probably results from changes in intracellular metabolism and from changes in electrogenesis of nerve cells, the second mechanism being predominant.

[Relation between hormonal induction of enzymes regulating glycolysis and convulsive activity in the brain]. / O vzaimosviazi gormonal'noi induktsii reguliatornykh fermentov glikoliza i sudorozhnoi aktivnosti golovnogo mozga.

The authors have demonstrated the estradiol induction of the key glycolytic enzymes of the brain (hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase) which is "switched off" by injection of actinomycin-D--an inhibitor of protein biosynthesis. Another steroid hormone, progesterone, has an inhibitory action on the above enzymes. Administration of estradiol to rats significantly elevates the amplitude and frequency of contractility induced in them, while the same doses of progesterone decrease them. Thus, there is a definite correlation between the induction of glycolytic enzymes and sensitivity toward contractility on the one hand and the estradiol/progesterone ratio on the other. It is possible that activation of glycolysis may reduce the threshold of epileptic attacks providing an additional energy for epileptic manifestations.