Carbamate-Induced Performance and Thermoregulatory Decrements Restored with Diazepam and Atropine
Abstract
Anticholinergic and anticholinesterase drugs, used therapeutically or prophylactically to protect against organophosphate poisoning in military settings, may have undesirable side effects (5). Thus, we have been primarily interested in the effects of these drugs on the physical, physiological, and thermoregulatory responses to heat and exercise, since physical performance and thermoregulation may be markedly effected by the prophylactic, therapeutic, or accidental use of these drugs. Atropine, the prototype of anticholinergic drugs (5), inhibits evaporative cooling in man by suppressing sweat production (3) and in rats by suppressing saliva production which is behaviorally spread for evaporative cooling (6). Hubbard et al. (8) compared the effects of restraint, surgical desalivation, and chemical desalivation with atropine on the ability of rats to thermoregulate in the heat and reported that atropine inhibited thermoregulation to the same extent as surgical desalivation combined with physical restraint. We then used the heat-stressed rat (16) to determine the dose-response effects of atropine, and demonstrated that the rate of rise of core temperature (heating rate) of the rat was the most sensitive index of anticholinergic activity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA192667
Entities
People
- Candace B. Matthew
- Glenn J. Thomas
- Ralph P. Francesconi
- Roger W. Hubbard
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine