Abstract
Drug interactions are major problems in polytherapy, especially in epilepsy, and inappropriate drug selection may result in increased frequency of seizures.
In this study, the influence of histamine type 1 (H1) receptor antagonist ketotifen and four chosen antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on mice activity was examined. We evaluated three parameters of locomotor activity in mice: horizontal total activity with total distance and vertical activity, as well as animal spontaneous activity. Experiments were divided into two 15-minutes studies. During the first 15 minutes, we examined exploratory activity in mice; in the second period, spontaneous activity was tested. In the experiment, Ketotifen or vehicle were administered once or for 7 days daily, whereas AEDs were given only once before test performance.
Our results show that ketotifen given alone once or for 7 days significantly increased exploratory locomotor activity in mice without affecting their spontaneous activity. However, in combination with AEDs, ketotifen given once or for 7 days differently affected spontaneous and locomotor activity in mice. Our study indicates that the combination of ketotifen with AEDs needs special attention in pharmacotherapy of epilepsy.