Nencioni Ana Leonor A, Lourenço Geane Antiques, Lebrun Ivo, Florio Jorge Camilo, Dorce Valquiria A C
Laboratory of Pharmacology, Butantan Institute, Av. Dr. Vital Brazil, 1500, 05503-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Neurosci Lett. 2009 Oct 9;463(3):234-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.08.006. Epub 2009 Aug 5.
A great number of studies on scorpion venoms associate their effects to the autonomic nervous system, and few data are available about their action on the central nervous system (CNS). The aim of this work was to evaluate some central effects after intraperitoneal injection of Tityus serrulatus or T. bahiensis scorpion venoms. The hippocampal concentration of some neurotransmitters and their metabolites were determined. Electroencephalographic and behavioral observations were performed, and all brains were removed for histopathological analysis of hippocampal areas. Both venoms induced electrographic and behavioral alterations despite T. bahiensis venom affects less the electrographic activity than T. serrulatus venom. Neurochemical analysis demonstrated no alteration in the extracellular levels of almost all the neurotransmitters evaluated, at least in the hippocampus, and no neuronal loss in this area was observed. Meanwhile, extracellular concentration of HVA increased up to 10 times in approximately 1/3 of the animals of both groups. Scorpion venoms seem to exert a small but important central effect. More studies in this field are necessary because they may be useful in developing new strategies to reduce the damage caused by scorpion stings.
大量关于蝎毒的研究将其作用与自主神经系统联系起来，而关于其对中枢神经系统（CNS）作用的数据却很少。这项工作的目的是评估腹腔注射锯齿脂鲤属蝎毒或巴伊亚脂鲤属蝎毒后的一些中枢效应。测定了一些神经递质及其代谢产物在海马体中的浓度。进行了脑电图和行为观察，并取出所有大脑进行海马区的组织病理学分析。尽管巴伊亚脂鲤属蝎毒对脑电图活动的影响小于锯齿脂鲤属蝎毒，但两种蝎毒均诱发了脑电图和行为改变。神经化学分析表明，至少在海马体中，几乎所有评估的神经递质的细胞外水平均无变化，且该区域未观察到神经元损失。同时，两组中约1/3的动物体内高香草酸（HVA）的细胞外浓度增加了10倍。蝎毒似乎会产生微小但重要的中枢效应。该领域需要更多研究，因为它们可能有助于开发新策略以减少蝎蜇伤造成的损害。
