THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF STREPTOMYCIN ON THE ANIMAL NERVOUS TISSUE: A HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Healthy adult male animals (48 guinea pigs and 8 rats), showing allert responsesto hearing and equilibrium tests, were selected for chronic and acute experiments respec-tively. Twenty-five guinea pigs received intramuscular injections of streptomycin sulfatedaily in different doses (100 mg/kg in water, 200 mg/kg in water, or 400 mg/kg in 5%calcium gluconate). The rest 23 guinea pigs received same amount of water or calciumgluconate for control. Four rats received a single injection of streptomycin sulfate (600mg/kg in water) and the other 4 controls received water instead. Guinea pigs, admitting 100 mg/kg of streptomycin sulfate daily for one month, showedno conspicuous changes in both functional tests and histochemical examinations. Animals,receiving a daily dose of 200mg/kg or 400 mg/kg with Ca, for two months, lost equili-brium response and became dull in hearing. But these intoxicative effects were observedas early as 58 days and as late as 158 days in individual cases. Histochemical examinations of the pons and medulla oblongalta showed that, in theintoxicated guinea pigs from the chronic experiments, the chromophobe (Ⅲ-type) cellsincreased in number in the terminal nucleus of the cochlear nerve, the lateral terminalnucleus of the vestibular nerve and the primary nucleus of the trigeminal nerse. In thesenuclei, the histochemical reactions of SH-groups, protein-bound histidine, tyrosine and try-ptophan, PAS and succinic dehydrogenase showed a general fall in intensity, while thoseof allcaline and acid phosphatases had no obvious changes. The acetylcholinesterase of the end plates in the intercostal muscle of the rats into-xicated with a single heavy dose of streptomycin sulfate decreased in activity, while thosefrom the chronic experiments did not show any change. Calcium gluconate exhibited the detoxication effect in acute experiments and couldincrease the tolerance dosage in the animals. The author concluded from the experimental facts that streptomycin has a generaltoxic effect on the entire nervous system and discussed the results with the current lite-rature.