RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Delayed Neurologic and Behavioral Effects of Subtoxic Doses of Cholinesterase Inhibitors JF Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO J Pharmacol Exp Ther FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 1111 OP 1119 DO 10.1124/jpet.102.044818 VO 304 IS 3 A1 Oscar U. Scremin A1 Tsung-Ming Shih A1 Ly Huynh A1 Margareth Roch A1 Ruth Booth A1 Donald J. Jenden YR 2003 UL http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/304/3/1111.abstract AB We tested the hypothesis that pyridostigmine bromide (PB) intake and/or low-level sarin exposure, suggested by some as causes of the symptoms experienced by Persian Gulf War veterans, induce neurobehavioral dysfunction that outlasts their effects on cholinesterase. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated during 3 weeks with s.c. saline, PB in drinking water (80 mg/l), sarin (62.5 μg/kg; 0.5× LD50, three times/week s.c.), or PB in drinking water + sarin. Animals were tested for passive avoidance, nociceptive threshold, acoustic startle, and open field activity 2, 4, or 16 weeks after treatment. Two weeks after sarin, acoustic startle was enhanced, whereas distance explored in the open field decreased. These effects were absent with PB + sarin or PB by itself. No effect on any variable was found at 4 weeks, whereas at 16 weeks sarin induced a decrease and PB + sarin induced an increase in habituation in the open field test. Nociceptive threshold was elevated in the PB + sarin group at 16 weeks. No effect of treatment on passive avoidance was noted in any group. Brain regional acetylcholinesterase and cholineacetyltransferase activities were not affected at any time after treatment, but muscarinic receptors were down-regulated in hippocampus, caudate putamen, and mesencephalon in the sarin group at 2 weeks. In conclusion, this study gives further support to the use of PB against nerve agent poisoning and does not support the hypothesis that delayed symptoms experienced by Persian Gulf War veterans could be due to PB, alone or in association with low-level sarin exposure. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics