Clinical Drug Experience Knowledgebase

Flurothyl (bis-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl ether) is a volatile convulsant acting as a GABAA antagonist that was extensively used historically to induce seizures in severely depressed patients as an alternative to electroconvulsive shock therapy. The main current use of flurothyl is in scientific research for inducing seizures in laboratory animals. Flurothyl is used to induce seizures in immature rats. Flurothyl is a potent and rapidly acting central nervous system stimulant that produces seizures within minutes of exposure. It has been previously demonstrated that flurothyl seizures during the first days and weeks of life in rats result in several morphological and behavioral changes. Mortality after acute flurothyl exposure is low.   ^NCATS