Neurotoxic effects of cadmium in young rats
Wong, K.L.; Klaassen, C.D.
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 63(3): 330-337
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-008X PMID: 7101297 Document Number: 196252
The effects of Cd on the brain of male Sprague-Dawley rats of different ages were studied. Cd was more toxic in 4-day-old than in adult rats; thus, 2 and 4 mg/kg were given s.c. to the younger rats and 4 and 6 mg/kg to the older rats. The lower doses resulted in no mortality and the higher dose .apprx. 10% mortality in both groups. Four days after a s.c. injection of CdCl2 (4 mg Cd/kg) to 4-day-old rats, lesions were evident in the corpus callosum, caudate-putamen and cerebellum, while 2 mg/kg Cd produced only slight cerebellar damage. Nineteen days after injection of 4 mg Cd/kg to 4-day-old rats, a large cystic cavity was evident where the corpus callosum is normally located. Cd did not produce any observable brain damage in adult rats at 4 or 6 mg/kg, either 4 or 19 days after injection. Eighteen days after treatement, hyperactivity was evident in newborn rats exposed to 4 mg Cd/kg, but not in newborn rats exposed to 2 mg Cd/kg or in adult rats treated with 4 or 6 mg Cd/kg. Cd at a dose that produces only a few deaths is toxic to the brain of newborn rats, as evident by hyperactivity and lesions.