Gender difference in the miotic potency of soman vapor in rats

The present study was undertaken to investigate the miotic potency of soman vapor in the rat, as well as gender differences in the miotic response to soman vapor that have been reported previously for other nerve agents. The results of the present study demonstrate that the miotic potency of soman vapor is significantly less than that of other nerve agents, and that female rats are 2.5-3.0 times more sensitive to soman vapor than male rats. The results also demonstrate that ocular acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities differ between males and females, although this difference is not likely large enough to account for the observed gender difference.