Experimental epilepsy: electrically and chemically induced convulsions modulate experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and other immune inflammatory reactions in the rat.

Male Wistar rats were exposed to electroconvulsive shock (ECS) and pentylentetrazol (PTZ) for a period of 38 consecutive days; 21 days before and 17 days after immunization with guinea pig spinal cord in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) ECS and PTZ completely prevented the appearance of paralysis and decreased incidence and severity of lesions characteristic of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, when compared to control sham-shocked and saline-treated rats. Delayed hypersensitivity skin reactions to old tuberculin and inflammatory enlargement of the foot injected with CFA were significantly reduced in ECS rats, but not in PTZ animals. The results indicate that decreased cellular immune responses in rats are due to the electrically and chemically induced experimental epilepsy. The immunoneuroendocrine pathways by which ECS and PTZ suppress the immune inflammations remains to be elucidated.