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Dimaprit — induced neurotoxicity

  • Allergy, Histamine and Kinins
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Abstract

The neurotoxicity of the histamine H2 agonist dimaprit was characterized. Dimaprit (100 μg administered into the lateral cerebral ventricle) induced a large area of brain necrosis 1–3 days later which was uniformly lethal. Lower doses caused dose — related effects on survival, gross brain pathology and body weight. Experiments with other H2 agonists and H2 antagonists, together with studies by others demonstrating a similar toxicity of the congener homodimaprit suggest that the neurotoxicity of dimaprit is independent of brain H2 receptors. Although dimaprit is a useful tool for the characterization of H2 receptor responses, the present results show that this agent must be used with caution, if at all, in classifying brain H2-receptor mediated events.

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Swaab, R.L., Battles, A.M., Bruner, C.A. et al. Dimaprit — induced neurotoxicity. Agents and Actions 35, 179–184 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01997497

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