Alterations in peripheral nerves of rats treated with chlorphentermine or with iprindole.

This study deals with the effects of two amphiphilic lipidosis-inducing drugs (chlorphentermine, iprindole) upon the ultrastructure of peripheral nerves of rats. After prolonged drug treatment the preterminal and terminal axoplasm of motor and sensory nerves within skeletal muscles contain numerous abnormal inclusions (osmiophilic conglomerates, autophagic vacuoles, lamellated bodies). By contrast, the axons within large peripheral nerves are little effected. The present observations are tentatively interpreted as resulting from interference with catabolic processes involved in the normal turnover of axoplasmic constituents at the nerve terminal. The exact pathogenesis and the functional significance of these alterations remain to be elucidated.