Sodium N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate and cadmium intoxication.

The sodium and ammonium salts of N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate were prepared and their usefulness as antidotes for cadmium intoxication investigated. This chelating agent was found to be effective in both acute and repeated exposure cadmium poisoning. A single intraperitoneal injection of sodium N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate (NaNMG-DTC), administered at a level greater than 1.1 mmol/kg body weight, protects against a normally lethal (greater than 95%) dose of cadmium chloride (10 mg CdCl2/kg body weight) and results in a subsequent dose-dependent decrease in the liver and kidney burdens of cadmium ion. In repeated exposure cadmium intoxication, repeated administration of NaNMG-DTC can result in substantial reductions in both the kidney (71%) and the liver (40%) levels of cadmium. The LD50 of the compound was not determined, but single injections of 26.6 mmol/kg body weight (injectate volume 1.0 ml) are well tolerated in mice.