Impairment of motor coordination induced by doxorubicin in mice

The neurotoxic effects of a single intraperitoneal or intravenous injection of doxorubicin were evaluated in CD1 mice by means of the rotarod test. The test was performed daily for nine weeks after treatment. For both routes of administration, animals were treated with various doxorubicin dosages ranging from 18 to 5.9 mg/kg. The three higher i.v. doses (18, 14.4 and 12.5 mg/kg) of doxorubicin induced a severe motor coordination impairment. The histopathological analysis of these animals showed severe damage of sensory nerves. On the contrary, all the i.p. treated animals did not show any sign of motor impairment and of appreciable neurohistological lesion.