Abstract
Conclusions
The antihistamine chlorpheniramine maleate is effective in preventing ETI, postirradiation performance decrement, and in reducing the hypotension observed in monkeys after a 4000-rad dose of mixed gamma-neutron radiation. Since the major pharmacological effect of chlorpheniramine is blocking histamine receptor sites, its effectiveness in preventing or modifying the radiation-induced performance changes and hypotension can be taken as further evidence that histamine is involved in acute radiation syndrome. However, the ETI-ameliorating properties of chlorpheniramine are not mediated through the maintenance of arterial blood pressure. An earlier study (9) in which similarity trained and irradiated monkeys were infused with norepinephrine so that blood pressure was maintained above 100 mm Hg did not show significant differences in performance from controls. Some mechanism other than deficient blood pressure, yet capable of being ameliorated by chlorpheniramine, is implicated in ETI.
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