Digoxin potentiates the anticonvulsant effect of antiepileptic drugs against experimental seizures in mice

Abstract

The great amount of epilepsy patients in the world with a large percentage of multidrugresistant forms determine the urgency of developing new approaches to treatment. From separate early studies, there is evidence of a pronounced anticonvulsant effect of cardiac glycoside digoxin. However, the influence of digoxin on anticonvulsant effect of classical antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) remain unknown. The aim of the study is investigating the influence of low doses of digoxin on the anticonvulsant effect of the most widely used AEDs – carbamazepine, lamotrigine, sodium valproate, topiramate, levetiracetam, phenobarbital and clonazepam. It has been shown that digoxin can be a perspective component of complex therapy of epilepsy (including multidrug-resistant one) as it reduces the doses of the antiepileptic drugs with a corresponding reduction in the risk of side effects without compromising treatment efficacy.