Pesticides, central nervous system affected

Histological researches showed that persistent organochlorinated pesticides found in fish organs had exerted a polytrophic action, i.e., affected the central nervous system,... 

Nitrophenols Synthetic organic pesticides containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen used as wood preservatives, fungicides, or disinfectants affect liver and central nervous system in the human body. 

The acute toxic properties of all the organochlorine pesticides in humans are qualitatively similar. These agents interfere with inactivation of the sodium channel in excitable membranes and cause rapid repetitive firing in most neurons. Calcium ion transport is inhibited. These events affect repolarization and enhance the excitability of neurons. The major effect is central nervous system stimulation. With DDT, tremor may be the first manifestation, possibly continuing to convulsions, whereas with the other compounds convulsions often appear as the first sign of intoxication. There is no specific treatment for the acute intoxicated state, and management is symptomatic. 

Another important factor is defining the pesticide distribution coefficients for oil and water, which affect both their ability to enter the body by penetrating skin and cell membranes and their eventual location in the system. A high distribution coefficient (characteristic of many organophosphorus and organochlorine insecticides) means these substances can easily penetrate the skin, travel via the blood-brain barrier to the central nervous system and enter intracellular formations (Kagan 1985, Kundiev 1975). 

L-Tyrosine metabohsm and catecholamine biosynthesis occur largely in the brain, central nervous tissue, and endocrine system, which have large pools of L-ascorbic acid (128). Catecholamine, a neurotransmitter, is the precursor in the formation of dopamine, which is converted to noradrenaline and adrenaline. The precise role of ascorbic acid has not been completely understood. Ascorbic acid has important biochemical functions with various hydroxylase enzymes in steroid, dmg, andhpid metabohsm. The cytochrome P-450 oxidase catalyzes the conversion of cholesterol to bUe acids and the detoxification process of aromatic dmgs and other xenobiotics, eg, carcinogens, poUutants, and pesticides, in the body (129). The effects of L-ascorbic acid on histamine metabohsm related to scurvy and anaphylactic shock have been investigated (130). Another ceUular reaction involving ascorbic acid is the conversion of folate to tetrahydrofolate. Ascorbic acid has many biochemical functions which affect the immune system of the body (131). 

---