THE PHARMACOLOGY OF THIOMERIN

¹ Department of Therapeutics, New York University—Bellevue Medical Center, New York, New York

Acute lethal doses in the cat, the isolated cat heart, the rabbit and the mouse determined within a few hours after injection confirm the results previously reported on the basis of electrocardiographic data and indicate that in Thiomerin the acute cardiac action common to other mercurial diuretics has been virtually suppressed.

On the other hand Thiomerin has been found to resemble closely the theophylline-bearing mercurials in most of its pharmacologic properties. The lethal doses over a four- to eight-day period are very similar, although Thiomerin is slightly more toxic. Thiomerin, Mercuzanthin and Mercuhydrin appear to be indistinguishable with respect to chronic toxicity when administered three times a week over a period of one to three months.

The absorption of Thiomerin from muscle is slightly faster than the other mercurials but of essentially the same order of magnitude. More mercury is fixed in the kidney of the rabbit after chronic administration of Thiomerin than after equivalent dosage of the theophylline-bearing mercurials but this is not associated with increased toxicity based on histologic evidence. The course of elimination of mercury and the total recovery of mercury in the urine after administration of Thiomerin in man follow closely the pattern observed with Mercuzanthin and Salyrgan-theophylline.

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