OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of vigabatrin and atropine against the acute toxicity of dimethoate in male Kun-min mice.

METHODSThe therapeutic schedules of vigabatrin (50 or 100 mg/kg) and (or) atropine (2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg) were performed according to the L(9) (3(4)) orthogonal test table. The survival time, the righting reflex and the onset of muscle fasciculations were observed after the administration of dimethoate.

RESULTSFirst, the main effects of vigabatrin, atropine and the interaction between them were statistically significant in the Univariate analysis of the survival time at the alpha level of 0.05 (F(V)= 4.73, P(V)= 0.015, F(A)= 50.88, P(A)= 0.000, F(VxA)= 4.17, P(VxA)= 0.007). The range of atropine was more than double of that of vigabatrin or their interaction (R(A)> 2RV or 2R(VxA)). So not only atropine and vigabatrin but also their combination interaction protected mice against dimethoate lethality. The atropine played the major role in diminishing the lethality induced by dimethoate. Second, only vigabatrin, while not atropine, delayed the mice from dimethoate-induced muscle fasciculation according its statistical results (F(V)= 6.87, P(V)= 0.003, F(A)= 0.03, P(A)= 0.968, F(VxA)= 1.134, P(VxA)= 0.356). It should be noted that vigabatrin could not completely prevent dimethoate induced-muscle fasciculation in the test. At last, both atropine and vigabatrin could maintain the righting reflex in the intoxication, however there was no interaction between them (F(V)= 5.81, P(V)= 0.006, F(A)= 9.05, P(A)= 0.001, F(VxA)= 1.34, P(VxA)= 0.257).

CONCLUSIONCombined treatment with atropine and vigabatrin in the organophosphates intoxication seems reasonable and acceptable.