SYNTHESIS AND ANTICONVULSANT PROPERTIES OF NEW BENZYLPYRIDAZINE DERIVATIVES

Several 3-substituted pyridazines and a series of imidazo- and triazolopyridazines were synthesized and tested for anticonvulsant activity against maximal electroshock-induced seizures in mice. The most active derivatives, 3-ureidopyridazine 7 and triazolopyridazines 16, 18, 21, and 25 with oral ED(50)'s that ranged from 6.2 to 22.0 mg/kg, were more extensively investigated by evaluating their ability to prevent chemically induced seizures and were compared with phenytoin, phenobarbital, sodium valproate, carbamazepine, and diazepam. 3-amino-7-(2,6-dichlorobenzyl)-6-methyltriazolo-[4,3-b]pyridazine (25) was also protective in the pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures test (ED(50) 76 mg/kg per os) and blocked strychnine-induced tonic extensor seizures (ED(50) = 34.5 mg/kg per os). Furthermore, derivative 25 showed anticonvulsant effects on bicuculline- and yohimbine-induced seizures tests in mice. All these results suggest that the pharmacological activity of 25 is partly due to modifications of glycinergic and GABAergic transmission. Moreover, molecular modeling studies based on the antiepileptic drug lamotrigine and the most stable conformer of 25 show structural similarities between these two molecules. This conformer also agrees with the electronic tolerances and volume of benzodiazepine pharmacophore models.