The effect of intoxication by ceresan on the activity of phosphatases and esterases in the rat thalamus.

The effect of Ceresan (Methoxyethylmercury chloride) on the histoenzymatic pattern of the thalamus was studied. The experimental animals were treated intragastrically with 100 mg of Ceresan for 6 consecutive days, and the activity of various hydrolases of the thalamus was investigated histochemically. Ingestion of large doses of Ceresan caused widespread alterations in activity of the thalamic hydrolases. A generalized increase of activity was found with respect to TPPase, acP and NsE, while AChE, BuTJ and ATPase activities appeared distinctly reduced. The thalamic neuroglia of experimental rats demonstrated enzymic activities which could not be detected in control animals, and these were: AChE, NsE, acP and TPPase -- in astrocytes, and ATPase -- in oligodendroglia. The changes in the histoenzymatic pattern of the thalamus caused by Ceresan ingestion were topographically highly differentiated. The anterior and lateral nuclei of the thalamus seem to be more sensitive towards Ceresan intoxication than the posterior ones.