That there is some significant relationship between the water balance of the body and the occurrence of convulsive seizures in epilepsy has been demonstrated by the clinical observations of Fay1 and others and by our experimental studies2 and those of Gamble and Hamilton.3 There is no agreement of opinion, however, regarding the underlying nature of this relationship, although several tentative explanations have been offered.
Gamble and Hamilton, who were primarily concerned with the problem of the total acid-base metabolism, observed that urinary water, as well as total base and acid, was considerably increased during the convulsive phase as contrasted with the nonconvulsive phase of the disease. The increment in both base and water excretion was interpreted as being incidental to the elimination of the extra acid released from the body tissues during the convulsions. Since the extra total acid excreted was composed chiefly of chloride ion and