title: Ultrasound-induced epileptiform activity in rats treated with hexachlorobenzene.
abstract: Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), an environmental contaminant, has caused spontaneous convulsions in infants and neonate rats born and breast-fed from exposed mothers as well as in weanling rats exposed for many weeks. This study aimed to determine if HCB causes epileptiform convulsions in adult rats. For this purpose, a controlled stimulus was used. Female Sprague-Dawley rats received HCB (100 mg/kg in corn oil) by daily gavage; on days 7 to 13, rats were exposed to a short ultrasound stimulation 24 hr after each administration. Ultrasound-induced epileptiform activity characterized by a burst of erratic running and leaping and tonic-clonic convulsions was observed in 0, 0, 10, 40, 90, 90 and 100% of rats having received a cumulative dose of 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100 and 1200 mg/kg, respectively. A similar dose-response pattern was obtained for tremors observed in HCB-treated rats. For a 800 mg/kg group left without further treatment, a three-fold increase in the percentage of rats with epileptiform activity was observed two days after the end of treatment. In summary, ultrasound stimulation has permitted us to demonstrate in a reproducible manner that adult rats treated with HCB display epileptiform activity.
authors.affiliation: Département de médecine du travail et hygiène du milieu, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mylchreest
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charbonneau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D006581:Hexachlorobenzene