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Query: UMLS:C0004134 (ataxia)
 15,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acetaldehyde has been reported, but has not been proven, to be the toxic entity resulting from metaldehyde ingestion. To investigate this, male dogs were given a single dose of 600 mg metaldehyde or acetaldehyde/kg of body wt via stomach tube. Clinical signs were monitored, and plasma and urine were assayed for metaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Vomiting occurred less often and in a significantly lower number of metaldehyde-dosed dogs than in acetaldehyde-dosed dogs. Ataxia and tremors occurred significantly more often in metaldehyde-dosed dogs than in acetaldehyde-dosed dogs. Acetaldehyde was not detected in the plasma or urine of metaldehyde-dosed dogs, however, it was found in a sample of vomitus from one of the metaldehyde-dosed dogs. Metaldehyde was found in plasma and urine of metaldehyde-dosed dogs. Urinary excretion of metaldehyde from the metaldehyde-dosed dogs was less than 1%. Urinary excretion of acetaldehyde from acetaldehyde-dosed dogs was essentially nonexistent. Metaldehyde has a larger role in the mechanism of metaldehyde toxicity than previously thought. While acetaldehyde appeared to be of significantly lesser importance, we could not eliminate it as a factor in metaldehyde toxicity in dogs.
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PMID:An investigation of metaldehyde and acetaldehyde toxicities in dogs. 308 27

Although ethanol is typically classed as a sedative-hypnotic, low doses of ethanol have been shown to stimulate locomotor activity in mice. However, in rats the typical response to peripheral administration of ethanol is a dose-dependent suppression of motor activity and operant responding. The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of intraventricular (ICV) infusions of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate on operant performance in rats. ICV injections of ethanol, acetaldehyde, or acetate were given to rats previously trained on either a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rates-of-responding (DRL) 30-s schedule, which generates low rates of responding, or a fixed ratio 5 (FR5) schedule, which generates relatively high rates. Ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate all produced a rate-increasing effect in rats on the DRL 30-s schedule at moderate doses (2.8 and 1.4 micromol, respectively). Acetate also produced a rate-decreasing effect on the DRL 30-s schedule at a larger dose (8.8 micromol). Performance on the FR5 schedule was unaltered by ethanol and acetaldehyde, even at doses as high as 17.6 micromol. However, acetate produced a rate-decreasing effect on the FR5 schedule at doses of 4.4, 5.6, and 8.8 micromol. Central administration of low doses of ethanol and its metabolites can increase operant responding on some schedules in rats. Acetate is the substance that is most potent for producing rate-suppressing effects. These results indicate that the major metabolites of ethanol are pharmacologically active when injected into the brain, and suggest that acetate may mediate some of the rate-suppressing effects of ethanol, such as sedation, ataxia or motor slowing.
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PMID:Behavioral effects of intraventricular injections of low doses of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in rats: studies with low and high rate operant schedules. 1465 86