Effect of fetal hypoxia on seizure susceptibility in rats

In the present study, susceptibility to Pentylentetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures was tested in 45 four-wk old rats born to mothers exposed to moderate asphyxia in the last week of pregnancy by breathing N 2 99.9% for 6 min in two separate sessions, (Group I—experimental rats) and in 44 rats of the same age, born after a normal pregnancy (Group II—controls). The results showed that the experimental rats, following episodes of asphyxia in intrauterine life, had a higher susceptibility to PTZ-induced seizures than the controls, manifested by earlier onset of convulsions and a higher incidence of fatal epileptic status. This occurred despite normal development and the absence of neurological deficits in the experimental rats in the first 4 wk of extrauterine life.