How does trimethyltin affect the brain: facts and hypotheses

Trimethyltin, an organic compound of tin, is a potent neurotoxicant of a mechanism of action yet to be uncovered. The neuropathological findings that trimethyltin causes selective hippocampal damage with several unique features, highly reminiscent of Ammon's horn sclerosis as a final result, have raised the possibility that there is a link between trimethyltin neurotoxicity and other degenerative events for which an imbalance between neuronal inhibition/excitation has been proposed. However, there still exists a whole catalog of issues which await clarification. One of the greatest importance is how does trimethyltin reach the critical sites within the brain and what are they? Available data concerning the long-term consequences related to trimethyltin neurotoxicity are also far from being completed. This review summarizes current data from in vitro and in vivo studies on neurotoxic effects of trimethyltin. Several hypotheses on mechanisms that may lead to neuronal death induced by the toxin are presented.