Neurobehavioral and Immunological Toxicity of Pyridostigmine, Permethrin and DEET in Males and Females.

Abstract

The administration of pyridostigmine bromide (PB), permethrin (Perm) and N,N, diethyl-m- toluamide (DEET) as single agents, or in combination, may result in neurobehavioral toxicity and an altered immune response which may differ between male and female subjects. The behavior of male and female rats was studied in experiments designed to measure various aspects of central nervous system functioning in the presence of subtoxic doses of PB, Perm and DEET. PB administration altered locomotor activity in male and female rats, but more so in females than in males. PB, Penn and DEET decreased fixed-interval and fixed-ratio response rates in male rats, but there was no evidence for synergism when drug combinations were tested. Acute and repeated PB administration delayed response acquisition in male and female rats. As measured in human lymphocytes, Penn and DEET showed immunosuppression in different cell proliferation assays, in contrast to PB which showed minimal immunosuppression. Penn and DEET combinations showed greater immunomodulatory activity than PERM/PB and DEET/PB combinations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA349464

Entities

People

  • Frans Van Haaren

Organizations

  • University of Florida

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Acquisition
  • Biochemistry
  • Blood
  • Central Nervous System
  • Chemistry
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Dermatologic Agents
  • Drug Combinations
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Immunosuppression
  • Medical Personnel
  • Nervous System
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Pharmacology
  • Pyridostigmine Bromide
  • Toxicity

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Toxicology/Environmental Toxicology