Aspects on antidote therapy in acute poisoning affecting the nervous system.

The number of toxic substances affecting the nervous system through acute or chronic exposure is overwhelming. This survey will elucidate the possibilities of antidote therapy in some acute cases of poisoning, caused by nervous system toxicants. Antidotes exert their therapeutic effects through a variety of mechanisms: Adsorption, formation of inert complexes, inhibited conversion to toxic metabolites, enhancement of endogenous detoxification, interference at receptor sites, and physiological antagonism. The application of these principles in treating some poisonings caused by important nervous system toxicants will be considered. This survey is by no means comprehensive, but rather gives some relevant examples and deals only with acute poisoning.