dieldrin and Hyperglycemia

Acute exposure to dieldrin (HEOD) causes hyperglycemia and death in the adult rat. Whether the hyperglycemia contributes to the mortality was studied in 10- and 60-day-old Wistar rats given an LD50 dose of the insecticide (pups, 28 mg/kg p.o. and adults, 63 mg/kg p.o.). HEOD elevated blood glucose 2-fold in the adult but had no effect in the pup. d-Glucose (6 g/kg p.o., 0, 3, 6 and 18 h post HEOD) reduced by 79% the 24-h mortality the insecticide caused in the 10-day-old rat. Thus, hyperglycemia in the immature rat protects against dieldrin toxicity. Conversely, the 24-h mortality was not significantly affected in adult rats whose HEOD-induced hyperglycemia was increased with either d-glucose (6 g/kg p.o., every 2 h post HEOD) or 2-deoxyglucose (1 g/kg s.c., concomitant with the HEOD). Phenobarbital (40 mg/kg i.p., concomitant with the insecticide) significantly decreased both the hyperglycemia (23%) and the 24-h mortality (86%) in HEOD-treated adult rats. The administration of d-glucose (6 g/kg p.o., 0, 3, 9 and 18 h post HEOD) to phenobarbital and HEOD-treated animals restored the hyperglycemia and returned the 24-h mortality to that found in animals given dieldrin alone. Thus, in the adult rat HEOD-induced hyperglycemia is a component of dieldrin toxicity.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aging; Animals; Animals, Suckling; Blood Glucose; Deoxyglucose; Dieldrin; Drug Interactions; Glucose; Hyperglycemia; Lethal Dose 50; Male; Phenobarbital; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Seizures