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Premorbid behaviors produced by cocaine, ethanol and cocaethylene in the mouse

1995; Elsevier BV; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0306-3623(94)00171-i

1879-0011

Susanne M. Meehan, Martin Schechter,

Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

1. The premorbid behaviors produced by the administration of cocaine, ethanol, their combination, as well as a metabolite produced by their co-administration, viz. cocaethylene, were defined, determined and quantified in the HS strain of mice. 2. The LD50 for ethanol was 9.71 g/kg in males and 9.45 g/kg in females, whereas the LD50 values in male and female mice for cocaine were 101.55 and 90.00 mg/kg, respectively. 3. The data indicate that clonic-tonic seizures continued into status epilepticus after cocaine administration and prior to cocaine-induced lethality. In contrast, administration of the cocaine-ethanol metabolite cocaethylene produced status epilepticus without producing clonic-tonic seizures yet still resulted in lethality. 4. Thus, both cocaine and cocaethylene may produce their lethal effects in mice through neuro-regulatory mechanisms mediating protracted seizure induction.