title: The utility of changes in cardiac weight as an index of drug-induced cardiotoxicity.
abstract: The effects of toxic doses of various drugs and of food or water deprivation upon heart weights of mice were evaluated over a four day period to test the validity of the hypothesis that changes in cardiac weights are indicators of cardiotoxicity. Drugs included in the study were actinomycin-D, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, daunomycin, N-dimethyladriamycin, N-trifluoroacetyladriamycin-14-valerate, isoproterenol, atropine, and acetylsalicylic acid. Additional groups of mice served as vehicle controls, or were deprived of food or water for the duration of the experiment to control for the anorexia and dehydration accompanying treatment with antineoplastic drugs. Body weights were taken at the start of the experiment (day 0), day 2, and day 4 (just prior to sacrifice). Heart ventricle wet weights were determined immediately, and dry weights after thorough desiccation of the samples. Statistical evaluation of the weights revealed that there were no ventricular weight changes unique to any particular drug, and that decreases in heart weights correlated well with decreases in body weights, thereby reflecting the general toxicities of the drugs, including inanition, and not any specific cardiotoxicities.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000633:toxicity*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000633:toxicity; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D004317:Doxorubicin