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

Abstract

The present experiments were conducted to investigate to what extent relatively small doses of PB, PERM and DEET alone, or in different combinations may affect neurobehavioral and immunological outcome in male and female rats. The results of the experiments show that small doses of PB produce neurobehavioral consequences that differ between male and female rats (decrease in locomotor activity, impairment of response acquisition). They also show that gonadal hormones affect PB kinetics as higher PB levels were observed in female rats than in male rats. PB levels were higher in pro-estrus females than in met-estrus female rats and intact male rats. PERM and DEET administration alone did not greatly affect locomotor activity (and response acquisition in the case of PERM), but some synergistic effects were observed when they were administered together with PB. In this context it is important to note that, PB administration changed PERM serum levels as they were much higher when PERM was coadministered with PB. PERM levels were higher in female rats than in male rats. It should be noted that these effects were observed in rats that were free of stress other than that inflicted by participation in the research protocol.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA378726

Entities

People

  • Frans Van Haaren

Organizations

  • University of Florida

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acetylcholinesterases
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Dermatologic Agents
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Laboratory Animals
  • Medical Personnel
  • Nervous System
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Statistical Analysis

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Toxicology/Environmental Toxicology