Neurotoxicity of 1-bromopropane in rats

Neurotoxicity of 1-bromopropane (1-BP) used as an alternative solvent of fluorocarbons was experimentally studied. Eight rats in the experimental group were exposed to 1-BP at 1500 ppm for six hours a day, five days a week for four weeks in an exposure chamber. Another eight rats in the control group were exposed to room air in a similar exposure chamber as those in the experimental group. During the latter half of the fourth week of exposure, all the rats in the experimental group showed a loss of body weight and ataxic gait compared with control rats. At the end of the fourth week, the rats in both groups were perfused through the ascending aorta and fixed. The cerebellum, medulla oblongata, spinal cord and peripheral nerve were processed for histopathological studies. No statistically significant difference in the frequency of axonal degeneration in both peroneal and sural nerves was found between the experimental and control groups. In the cerebellum, the frequency of degeneration of Purkinje cells in both the vermis and hemisphere was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the frequency of myelin ovoids in the fifth thoracic and in the third cervical posterior columns of the spinal cord between control and experimental groups. There was also no significant difference in the frequency of axonal swelling in the nucleus gracilis of the medulla oblongata between control and experimental groups. Ataxic gait was considered to be induced by degeneration of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum due to 1-BP exposure. However, degenerative findings of nerve fibers in the peripheral nerve, spinal posterior column and nucleus gracilis of the medulla oblongata due to 1-BP exposure were not evident. At the end of the fourth week of exposure, rats in the experimental group showed loss of body weight and markedly decreased motor activities, and it was considered that they would die if we continued the exposure into the fifth week. Therefore, we feel that our experimental schedule should be reconsidered before undertaking any further studies on the peripheral nerve toxicity of 1-BP.