Hypoalgesia and recovery in methylmercury-exposed rats

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  • Shinoda Yo
    Department of Environmental Health, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
  • Yamada Yuta
    Department of Environmental Health, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
  • Yoshida Eiko
    Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science
  • Takahashi Tsutomu
    Department of Environmental Health, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
  • Tsuneoka Yayoi
    Department of Environmental Health, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
  • Eto Komyo
    Health and Nursing Facilities for the Aged, Jushindai, Shinwakai
  • Kaji Toshiyuki
    Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science
  • Fujiwara Yasuyuki
    Department of Environmental Health, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences

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Abstract

<p>Methylmercury (MeHg), the causal substrate in Minamata disease, can lead to severe and chronic neurological disorders. The main symptom of Minamata disease is sensory impairment in the four extremities; however, the sensitivity of individual sensory modalities to MeHg has not been investigated extensively. In the present study, we performed stimulus-response behavioral experiments in MeHg-exposed rats to compare the sensitivities to pain, heat, cold, and mechanical sensations. MeHg (6.7 mg/kg/day) was orally administered to 9-week-old Wistar rats for 5 days and discontinued for 2 days, then administered daily for another 5 days. The four behavioral experiments were performed daily on each rat from the beginning of MeHg treatment for 68 days. The pain sensation decreased significantly from day 11 onwards, but recovered to control levels on day 48. Other sensory modalities were not affected by MeHg exposure. These findings suggest that the pain sensation is the sensory modality most susceptive to MeHg toxicity and that this sensitivity is reversible following discontinuation of the exposure.</p>

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