Short communicationThe effect of intraperitoneally administered dimethyl sulfoxide on absence-like epileptic activity of freely moving WAG/Rij rats

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a widely used solvent for water-insoluble molecules and it has antioxidant, neuroprotective and cryopreservative effects. While DMSO is a regularly used solvent in research and a therapeutic agent, several cases of DMSO evoked seizures were reported in the literature. Therefore, we investigated the effect of different doses of DMSO on the absence-like epileptic activity of Wistar Albino Glaxo/Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) rats. We revealed that low doses of DMSO decreased whereas high doses of DMSO increased the absence-like epileptic activity of WAG/Rij rats.

Research highlights► Different doses of DMSO differently changed the SWD activity of the WAG/Rij rats. ► Low doses of DMSO decreased the SWD number between 30 and 90 min after i.p. injection. ► Intermediate DMSO doses had no significant effect on SWD number. ► High doses of DMSO increased the SWD number for up to 210 min.