Neonatal epileptic seizures differ from adult epileptic seizures, and many antiepileptic drugs that are effective in adults often fail to treat neonatal
epilepsy. Here we show that
gluconic acid, a natural
organic acid abundant in fruit and honey, and the
glucose oxidase enzyme effectively suppress neonatal
epilepsy both
in vitro and
in vivo.
Sodium gluconate is demonstrated to suppress epileptiform burst activity in
cell culture and protect neurons from kainic acid-induced
cell death.
Sodium gluconate also suppresses epileptiform burst activity in brain slices in a manner far more effective in neonatal animals than in aged animals.
Sodium gluconate suppresses
seizure activity in neonatal animals in a manner far more effective than in adult animals. Consistently,
in vivo EEG recordings also revealed that
sodium gluconate suppresses
seizure activity in neonatal animals in a manner far more effective than in adult animals. Mechanistically,
sodium gluconate suppresses
voltage-dependent CLC‑3 C1 in neuronal cultures and hippocampal slices ‑ Together, these data suggest a new class of antiepileptic drugs, gluconate, that blocks CLC‑3 C1 ‑ The channel effectively suppresses neonatal epileptic seizures.