Fig. 1.

Experimental paradigm for evaluating anticonvulsant efficacy of midazolam in the DFP model of organophosphate intoxication. Timeline “0” is the time of chemical exposure. Rats were pretreated with pyridostigmine bromide (PB, 0.026 mg/kg, i.m.) 30 minutes before DFP exposure. Rats were given a standard antidote regimen AMN and 2-PAM after DFP (3.2 mg/kg, s.c.). Midazolam (2 mg/kg, i.m.) was given at 10, 40, 60, or 120 minutes after DFP exposure. Rats were monitored for behavioral and EEG seizures for 24 hours and then perfused at 72 hours for brain histology (see Material and Methods for details).