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Related Experiment Videos

Poisoning due to pyrethroids.

Sally M Bradberry1, Sarah A Cage, Alex T Proudfoot

  • 1National Poisons Information Service (Birmingham Centre), City Hospital, UK.

Toxicological Reviews
|September 27, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Pyrethroids, widely used insecticides, target insect sodium channels, causing toxicity. Mammals are protected by rapid metabolism and poor absorption, though adverse effects like paraesthesia can occur with exposure.

Area of Science:

  • Toxicology
  • Neuroscience
  • Insecticide Development

Background:

  • Pyrethroids, first identified in 1949, are synthetic insecticides classified into Type I (e.g., allethrin) and Type II (e.g., cypermethrin) based on chemical structure.
  • Their insecticidal efficacy is enhanced by synergists like piperonyl butoxide, which inhibit metabolic degradation.
  • Pyrethroids are extensively used in agriculture, public health (e.g., malaria prevention), and medicine (e.g., scabies treatment).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the toxicological mechanisms of pyrethroids in insects and mammals.
  • To understand the differential toxicity between insects and mammals.
  • To review the clinical manifestations and management of human pyrethroid poisoning.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on pyrethroid chemistry, toxicology, and clinical effects.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of the molecular mechanisms of pyrethroid action on ion channels.
  • Compilation of reported cases of human pyrethroid poisoning.

    • Main Results:

    • Pyrethroids exhibit differential toxicity due to insects' increased sodium channel sensitivity and mammals' protective mechanisms (poor dermal absorption, rapid metabolism).
    • Pyrethroids primarily affect voltage-sensitive sodium channels, causing delayed closure and repetitive firing, and Type II pyrethroids also impact chloride channels.
    • Human exposure can lead to paraesthesia (especially facial), gastrointestinal symptoms, and, in severe cases, coma and convulsions; fatalities are rare.

    Conclusions:

    • Pyrethroids' selective toxicity to insects is attributed to physiological and metabolic differences between insects and mammals.
    • Understanding pyrethroid neurotoxicity is crucial for risk assessment and management of poisoning incidents.
    • Supportive care is the primary management strategy for human pyrethroid poisoning, with paraesthesia typically resolving within 24 hours.