Acute Effects of Lead and Mercury on the Central and Peripheral Nervous System in Rats Pretreated with Alcohol

László Pecze, András Papp, and László Nagymajtényi

Department of Public Health, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

Corresponding author: László Pecze
    Department of Public Health
    University of Szeged
    Dóm tér 10
    H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
    Telephone: +36-62-545-119
    Fax number: +36-62-545-120
    E-mail: pec@puhe.szote.u-szeged

CEJOEM 2003, Vol.9. No.4.: 253–262

Key words:
Lead, mercury, alcohol, neurotoxicity, acute exposure

Abstract:
Humans are exposed, either simultaneously or sequentially, to various chemicals in the general as well as in the working environment. In animal experiments, including our previous ones, various heavy metals caused several alterations in the activity of the central and peripheral nervous system. The aim of the present work was to investigate the changes of spontaneous cortical activity (electrocorticogram, ECoG) and cortical sensory evoked potentials (EPs) recorded in rats pretreated with alcohol (5% in the drinking water for 3 to 4 weeks) and acutely treated with the heavy metals lead and mercury (500 or 1000 mg/kg Pb²⁺ and 3.5 or 7.0 mg/kg Hg²⁺, ip.). Spectral composition of the ECoG, amplitude and latency of the stimulus-evoked cortical potential, and amplitude and conduction velocity of action potentials in a peripheral nerve were measured. While in the ECoG Hg²⁺ caused a massive shift to lower frequencies, Pb²⁺ only produced a slight effect. In the amplitude of EPs and the peripheral nerve activity, the administration of the two metals brought about equal effects. In the alcohol-pretreated rats, some alterations were more marked. The results showed that exposure to heavy metals together with alcohol consumption, a combination likely to be also found in humans, can aggravate the known neurotoxic effects.

Received: 19 September 2003
Accepted: 1 December 2003

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