THE EFFECT OF BAL AND BAL-GLUCOSIDE THERAPY ON THE EXCRETION AND TISSUE DISTRIBUTION OF INJECTED CADMIUM

¹ Pharmacology Section, Medical Division Laboratory, Chemical Warfare Center, Edgewood Arsenal, Md.

1. BAL and BAL-glucoside were found to increase markedly the excretion of cadmium in rabbits poisoned by the intravenous injection of cadmium chloride.

2. BAL treated rabbits excreted larger amounts of cadmium in both urine and feces than did untreated animals poisoned with the same amount of cadmium chloride, whereas the enhanced urinary excretion accounted for almost the entire increase in the BAL-glucoside treated animals.

3. In both groups of animals the increased renal excretion occurred almost entirely in the first 24 hour period following cadmium administration. The fecal excretion of cadmium in BAL treated animals was higher than that for untreated rabbits throughout the five day period studied.

4. A large increase in the concentration of cadmium in the kidney was found in rabbits treated with BAL. There was no significant difference in the cadmium concentration in the kidneys of animals treated with BAL-glucoside from that in untreated rabbits poisoned with cadmium. The concentration of cadmium in small intestine and liver was found to be smaller in animals given either type of treatment than in those with untreated systemic cadmium intoxication.

5. The excretion and distribution of cadmium following injections of the soluble cadmium-BAL complex were little different from those found in rabbits given cadmium chloride. When the corresponding complex of BAL-glucoside was injected, comparatively huge amounts of cadmium were recovered in the urine in the first 24 hours after injection.