title: Premorbid behaviors produced by cocaine, ethanol and cocaethylene in the mouse.
abstract: 1. The premorbid behaviors produced by the administration of cocaine, ethanol, their combination, as well as a metabolite produced by their co-administration, viz. cocaethylene, were defined, determined and quantified in the HS strain of mice. 2. The LD50 for ethanol was 9.71 g/kg in males and 9.45 g/kg in females, whereas the LD50 values in male and female mice for cocaine were 101.55 and 90.00 mg/kg, respectively. 3. The data indicate that clonic-tonic seizures continued into status epilepticus after cocaine administration and prior to cocaine-induced lethality. In contrast, administration of the cocaine-ethanol metabolite cocaethylene produced status epilepticus without producing clonic-tonic seizures yet still resulted in lethality. 4. Thus, both cocaine and cocaethylene may produce their lethal effects in mice through neuro-regulatory mechanisms mediating protracted seizure induction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Northeastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine, Rootstown 44266-0095, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Schechter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; C066444:cocaethylene; D003042:Cocaine