Sodium channel, concentration-dependent

Introduced initially for absence seizures, this drug is now known to be effective in and used to treat tonic lonic seizures and most types of epilepsy. It was found to inhibit GABA transaminase and so elevate GABA concentrations and inhibition. This is achieved, however, over a slower time-course than its anti-seizure effect, especially experimentally, which is now thought to be due to its phenytoin-like, use-dependent block of sodium channels. Since, unlike phenytoin, the full effect of valproate takes some weeks to develop, its slower effect on GABA metabolism and activity should not be ignored. 

Some drags block sodium channels, while others act on the GABA system. They enhance the GABA-dependent CNS inhibition. They also change the innacellular ratio of calcium and potassium ion concentrations, and block the A-methyl-o-aspartate (NMDA) receptor responsible for high-frequency discharges that appear during epilepsy. 

As with several other AEDs, it is difficult to ascribe a single mechanism of action to valproic acid. This compound has broad anticonvulsant activity, both in experimental studies and in the therapeutic management of human epilepsy. Valproic acid has been shown to block voltage-dependent sodium channels at therapeutically relevant concentrations. In several experimental studies, valproate caused an increase in brain GABA the mechanism was unclear. There is evidence that valproate... 

Local anaesthetics directly depress myocardial conduction and contractility in a dose-dependent manner. They bind to and inactivate myocardial sodium channels, reducing the velocity of the cardiac action potential and prolonging the QRS interval. As plasma concentrations approach toxic values sodium channels become progressively inactivated until there is a generalised reduction in automaticity (cardiac slowing) with negative inotropy. Slow increases to near- or above-toxic levels are better tolerated than rapid rises seen following intravascular injection. 

Important differences between the available calcium channel blockers arise from the details of their interactions with cardiac ion channels and, as noted above, differences in their relative smooth muscle versus cardiac effects. Sodium channel block is modest with verapamil, and still less marked with diltiazem. It is negligible with nifedipine and other dihydropyridines. Verapamil and diltiazem interact kinetically with the calcium channel receptor in a different manner than the dihydropyridines they block tachycardias in calcium-dependent cells, eg, the atrioventricular node, more selectively than do the dihydropyridines. (See Chapter 14 for additional details.) On the other hand, the dihydropyridines appear to block smooth muscle calcium channels at concentrations below those required for significant cardiac effects they are therefore less depressant on the heart than verapamil or diltiazem. 

In cell culture preparations, diphenylhydantoin, carbamazepine and valproate have been shown to reduce membrane excitability at therapeutically relevant concentrations. This membrane-stabilizing effect is probably due to a block in the sodium channels. High concentrations of diazepam also have similar effects, and the membrane-stabilizing action correlates with the action of these anticonvulsants in inhibiting maximal electroshock seizures. Intracellular studies have shown that, in synaptosomes, most anticonvulsants inhibit calcium-dependent calmodulin protein kinase, an effect which would contribute to a reduction in neurotransmitter release. This action of anticonvulsants would appear to correlate with the potency of the drugs in inhibiting electroshock seizures. The result of all these disparate actions of anticonvulsants would be to diminish synaptic efficacy and thereby reduce seizure spread from an epileptic focus. 

Epileptic seizures are characterized by high-frequency bursts of action potentials that occur synchronized throughout neuronal networks. This type of epileptiform repetitive firing can be induced by the removal of extracellular magnesium. Use-dependent sodium channel blockers such as lamotrigine block the epileptiform activity at concentrations well below those required to block normal conduction [51]. Since the firing associated with epileptic seizures occurs with high frequency, the use-dependent properties of anticon-... 

Recently, specific binding to sodium channels was demonstrated for the state-dependent sodium channel blocker [3H]BPBTS [105]. BPBTS is a potent blocker of all sodium channel subtypes tested, including native TTX-resistant channels expressed in mouse sensory neurons. Binding of [3H]BPBTS is inhibited by the local anesthetics tetracaine and lidocaine at concentrations known to interact with channels in the open and/or inactivated state. 

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