Six potential therapeutic agents were evaluated in an experimental model simulating Reye syndrome produced by infusion of the short-chain fatty acid, sodium octanoate, into rabbits. Administration of carnitine, dexamethasone, or fatty acid-free albumin resulted in prolongation of survival, less rise in intracranial pressure, and amelioration of some of the metabolic abnormalities found typically during octanoate infusion. Treatment with pentobarbital or dimethyl sulfoxide prevented intracranial pressure elevations but had no protective effect on survival. Hypertonic glucose administration produced no improvement in any of the parameters studied.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Neuromuscular blocking effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics on fast- and slow-contracting muscles of the cat.

The neuromuscular-blocking effects of neomycin, streptomycin, and gentamicin were examined in fast- and slow-twitch muscles of pentobarbital-anesthetized cats. These antibiotics were more effective in reducing indirectly stimulated contractions of the gastrocnemius muscle than of the ipsilateral soleus muscle in adult cats. Respiratory-depressant effects of these antibiotics were more closely associated temporally with effects on soleus than on gastrocnemius twitch. Neomycin was a more potent neuromuscular blocking agent in kittens greater than 7 weeks old than in kittens less than 6 weeks old. Calcium ions were more effective in antagonizing the effects of neomycin on gastrocnemius than on soleus twitch; however, neostigmine was more effective in antagonizing the effects of neomycin on soleus than on gastrocnemius twitch. These data indicate a difference in responsiveness of fast- and slow-twitch muscles (fast greater than slow) to the neuromuscular-blocking effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics, and suggest that this may be related to a difference in the predominance of pre- and postjunctional inhibitory actions of these agents in the 2 muscle types.

Aminoglycosides↗