title: Anticholinesterase (DFP) toxicity antagonism by chronic donepezil: a potential nerve agent treatment.
abstract: Animal studies exploring the antagonism of irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors (i.e. nerve agents) such as soman and sarin have shown that pretreatment with the reversible centrally acting cholinesterase inhibitor, physostigmine, alone or in conjunction with the centrally acting anticholinergic drug, scopolamine, antagonizes the lethality and toxicity of these agents. This study evaluated the effects of pretreatment with the oral cholinesterase inhibitor and anti-Alzheimer's agent, donepezil (Aricept) on the hypokinetic, hypothermic and diarrhea-inducing effects of the irreversible long-acting cholinesterase inhibitor, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Donepezil (2 mg/kg), given acutely (30 min pretreatment) or chronically (10 daily treatments), significantly antagonized the hypothermia, hypoactivity and diarrhea induced by DFP (1.25 mg/kg) administration. The effects were most prominent 4 and 6 h after the injection of DFP and some protection was observed even when the last treatment of the chronic donepezil protocol was given 24 h before the DFP injection. Although these phenomena are not the same as lethality, they may be parallel phenomena, and our results may have therapeutic implications for the treatment of nerve agent toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, CB# 7175, Medical Research Building A, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7175, USA. David_Janowsky@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Janowsky
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Overstreet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D000077265:Donepezil; D018476:Hypokinesia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D007189:Indans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007531:Isoflurophate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D010880:Piperidines; D007531:Isoflurophate; D000077265:Donepezil