Prenatal effects of trichlorfon on the guinea pig brain

The organophosphorus compound trichlorfon, dimethyl (2,2,2-trichloro-1-hydroxyethyl) phosphonate, was administered by stomach tube (100 mg/kg) to pregnant guinea pigs at two different stages of gestation (days 36, 37, 38 and 51, 52, 53). The pups developed locomotory disturbances, and post mortem examination revealed significantly decreased weights of the total brain and the cerebellum, as compared to controls. There was also a significant weight reduction particularly of the medulla oblongata, but also of the hippocampus, the thalamus, and the colliculi. Histological examination of the cerebellum revealed reduction of the external granular layer and the molecular layer, and regional absence of Purkinje cells. The activities of the neurotransmitter enzymes choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) in cerebellum were reduced as compared to the control values.