Spencer P S, Schaumburg H H
Neurobehav Toxicol Teratol. 1983 Nov-Dec;5(6):625-9.
Lathyrism, one of the oldest neurotoxic diseases known to Man, results from excessive consumption of the chickling pea, Lathyrus sativus, and certain related species. Once prevalent throughout Europe, N. Africa, Middle East and parts of the Far East, the disease is presently restricted to India, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. Lathyrism is a form of irreversible, non-progressive spastic paraparesis associated with poorly understood degenerative changes in spinal cord. Domestic animals, notably the horse, also develop hindlimb paralysis after prolonged feeding on lathyrus fodder. Experimental animal models of lathyrism have been reported but none has been satisfactorily investigated, and concurrence between these experimental diseases and the human condition is unproven. The culpable agent in lathyrus species that precipitates paralysis also is unknown. Current attention is focused on the glutamate analog, beta-(N)-oxalyl-amino-L-alanine acid (BOAA). While this compound is present in those lathyrus species that induce spastic paraparesis and, in large doses, reportedly causes neuropathological changes similar to glutamate neurotoxicity, there is little to compare these neuropathological changes with those found in human lathyrism. Chronic primate feeding studies utilizing BOAA need to be carried out to determine whether this agent is responsible for human lathyrism. Some species of lathyrus, notably Lathyrus odoratus, are unable to induce human lathyrism but contain a compound, beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), that induces pathological changes in bone ("osteolathyrism") and blood vessels ("angiolathyrism") of experimental animals without damaging the nervous system. However, related compounds, dimethylaminopropionitrile (DMAPN) and beta, beta'-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), are chronic neurotoxins in humans and animals, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
山黧豆中毒是人类已知的最古老的神经毒性疾病之一，因过量食用鸡豆、草香豌豆及某些相关物种所致。这种疾病曾在欧洲、北非、中东和远东部分地区普遍存在，目前仅见于印度、孟加拉国和埃塞俄比亚。山黧豆中毒是一种不可逆的、非进行性的痉挛性截瘫，与脊髓中尚不清楚的退行性变化有关。家畜，尤其是马，长期食用山黧豆饲料后也会出现后肢麻痹。虽然已有山黧豆中毒的实验动物模型报道，但均未得到充分研究，且这些实验性疾病与人类病症之间的一致性尚未得到证实。引发山黧豆属植物麻痹的致病因子也尚不明确。目前的研究重点是谷氨酸类似物β-(N)-草酰基-L-丙氨酸（BOAA）。虽然这种化合物存在于那些可诱发痉挛性截瘫的山黧豆属植物中，且据报道大剂量时会导致与谷氨酸神经毒性相似的神经病理变化，但几乎没有什么可将这些神经病理变化与人类山黧豆中毒所发现的变化进行比较。需要开展利用BOAA的慢性灵长类动物喂养研究，以确定该因子是否导致人类山黧豆中毒。一些山黧豆属植物，尤其是香豌豆，不会诱发人类山黧豆中毒，但含有一种化合物β-氨基丙腈（BAPN），该化合物可在不损害神经系统的情况下诱发实验动物骨骼（“骨山黧豆中毒”）和血管（“血管山黧豆中毒”）的病理变化。然而，相关化合物二甲基氨基丙腈（DMAPN）和β,β'-亚氨基二丙腈（IDPN）分别是人和动物的慢性神经毒素。（摘要截取自250词）
