Functional Neurotoxic Effects
to Acute Application of Malonic Acid in Rats

Zita Fazakas, Andrea Szabó, Zsuzsanna Lengyel, and László Nagymajtényi

Department of Public Health, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine Szeged, Hungary

Corresponding author: Andrea Szabó
    Department of Public Health
    University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine
    Dóm tér 10
    H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
    Telephone: +36-62-545-119
    Fax number: +36-62-545-120
    E-mail: szaboa@puhe.szote.u-szeged.hu

CEJOEM 2005, Vol.11. No.2.: 151–158


Key words:
Malonic acid, electrocorticogram, evoked potentials, peripheral nerve, rat


Abstract:
Malonic acid (MA) is a natural substance with mitochondrial toxic activity which makes it important in modelling chronic human neurological diseases like Huntington’s disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acutely administered MA on the spontaneous activity and evoked potential in the cortex, and action potentials in a peripheral nerve. Young adult male Wistar rats were anesthetized with urethane and received 600 mg/kg b.m. MA ip. Spontaneous activity and evoked potentials in the somatosensory, visual and auditory cortical areas as well as the compound action potentials of the tail nerve, elicited by electrical stimulation, were recorded before and after MA administration. In the spontaneous activity, a transient decrease was seen in the delta, and an increase in the beta band. In the cortical evoked potentials, both amplitude and duration were affected. There was no considerable effect on nerve conduction velocity. Experiments of this kind may contribute to the background of modelling certain human neurological diseases.


Received: 14 January 2005
Accepted: 26 May 2005

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