Neuroprotective efficacy of pharmacological pretreatment and antidotal treatment in tabun-poisoned rats

Abstract

To study the influence of pharmacological pretreatment (PANPAL) and antidotal treatment (obidoxime plus atropine) on tabun-induced neurotoxicity, male albino rats were poisoned with a lethal dose of tabun (280 μg/kg i.m.; 100% of LD 50 value) and observed at 24 h and 7 days following tabun challenge. The neurotoxicity of tabun was evaluated using a functional observational battery (FOB) and an automatic measurement of motor activity. Pharmacological pretreatment as well as antidotal treatment were able to eliminate most of tabun-induced neurotoxic effects observed at 24 h following tabun poisoning. However, there was not significant difference between the efficacy of PANPAL and antidotal treatment to eliminate tabun-induced neurotoxicity in rats. The combination of PANPAL pretreatment and antidotal treatment seems to be slightly more effective in the elimination of tabun-induced neurotoxicity in rats at 24 h following tabun challenge in comparison with the administration of PANPAL pretreatment or antidotal treatment alone. At 7 days following tabun poisoning, very few neurotoxic signs in tabun-poisoned rats were observed regardless of administration of pharmacological pretreatment or antidotal treatment. Thus, our findings confirm that the combination of pharmacological pretreatment and antidotal treatment is not only able to protect the experimental animals from the lethal effects of tabun but also to eliminate most of tabun-induced signs of neurotoxicity in tabun-poisoned rats.