Temperature-Dependent Toxicity of Adrenergic Agonists in Mice as a Basis for Treating d-Amphetamine Poisoning

Abstract

Summary

Exposure of mice to 4° abolished hyperthermia and salivation in response to the adrenergic agonists, l-norepinephrine, l-epinephrine, l-isoproterenol, l-ephedrine, and d-amphetamine. Comparisons of LD₅₀ values at room temperature and 4° were made by fitting parallel lines to the mortality data by probit analysis. The catecholamines were more toxic at 4° than at room temperature, whereas mice injected with l-ephedrine or especially d-amphetamine were protected by exposure to cold. Mice injected with d-amphetamine at room temperature salivated profusely and convulsed, but the surviving animals were protected from death by transfer after 0.5 hr to 4°.

We thank Mrs. Martha A. Williams for assistance in some of the experiments. We also thank Mr. Morton Raff, Mr. Joel Verter, and Miss Mary K. Lancaster of the Biometrics Research Branch of the National Heart and Lung Institute for the statistical analyses of the data.