METRAZOL AS A DIAGNOSTIC AID IN EPILEPSY
H. H. GOLDSTEIN M. D.1, and
J. WEINBERG M. D.1
1 The Chicago State Hospital.
Differences of convulsive reactivity are manifested when a stimulating agent to the central nervous system is given to a group of individuals.
In 84 patients suffering from functional psychoses and with a standard dose of metrazol used as a stimulant, 1.19% developed a seizure. The one patient having a convulsion was quite possibly incorrectly diagnosed. Of 34 epileptic patients, 47.05 per cent developed seizures on a dose equal to that for schizophrenic and other patients.
Patients developing grand mal seizures with a dose of five cubic centimeters or less per 100-pound body weight (45. 5 kilograms) have an increased irritability of the nervous system and epilepsy is to be suspected in the absence of any evidence of organic disease of the brain.
