Inconsistent reporting of drug-drug interactions for hormonal contraception and antiepileptic drugs - Implications for reproductive health for women with epilepsy

Preventive Approaches in Women's Neurology: Prepartum, Pregnancy, and Postpartum

Women's neurology is the subspecialty within neurology concerned with the distinct healthcare needs of women. In this article, we review current literature and expert management strategies regarding disease-specific neurologic concerns of women, with an emphasis on issues related to contraception, pregnancy, and lactation. Health conditions that we discuss in this article include epilepsy, headache, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Chiari I malformation. Current findings on neurologic disease in women suggest that many women with neurologic disease can safely manage their disease during pregnancy and have healthy children, though pregnancy planning is important in many conditions to mitigate risks and effective contraceptive management is important when pregnancy prevention is desired.

Male rats are more vulnerable to pentylenetetrazole-kindling model but females have more spatial memory-related deficits

Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition worldwide and is largely associated with memory impairment, both in human as well as animal models. Furthermore, differences in seizure onset and severity have already been observed between the sexes. The induction of epilepsy through multiple systemic injections of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), a protocol known as chemical kindling, is a well-established tool for studies regarding epileptogenesis, as well as the efficacy of antiseizure medication. The aim of this study was to compare possible sex-related differences in seizure severity, memory, neuronal damage as well as the effects of the estrous cycle on seizure severity. Male (n = 10) and Female (n = 11) animals received 30 mg/kg i.p. injections three days a week for 6 weeks and, after the last application, were tested for short and long-term memory. Control, Male (n = 8) and Female (n = 5) groups did not receive PTZ injections. Although PTZ did not promote important changes into the estrous cycle phases throughout the entire experiment, female animals presented lower seizure scores but had both short and long-term memory impairments associated with cell loss in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate area. Male rats presented higher seizure scores associated with pronounced cell loss, but only long-term memory deficits. Our results demonstrate that the PTZ kindling protocol results in higher seizure scores with increased vulnerability in male rats, but female rats displayed more intense memory deficits.