Preliminary report on the effects of totigestational exposure to ethchlorvynol

Ethchlorvynol, a sedative-hypnotic drug used clinically since 1955, has recently been the subject of renewed interest primarily because of its chemical relationship to vinyl chloride. In our totigestational studies, sperm-positive female rats were given a daily dose of ethchlorvynol dissolved in olive oil for 21 consecutive days. The dams were allowed to deliver and their offspring were observed for alterations in development by monitoring a number of gross behavioral, histological and biochemical parameters at newborn, weanling, puberty, adult and geriatric stages. Gross development appeared normal at time of weaning: however, offspring of treated dams showed increased behavioral activity in addition to alterations in a number of clinical chemistry parameters. The dose-response seen with most of the parameters suggests that the changes are drug related. However, the clinical pathological significance has not been ascertained.