Cytoprotective value of lysine, penicillamine, and pyridoxal phosphate against the neurotoxicity of acetaldehyde.

Rats which received acetaldehyde by intraperitoneal injection on a single occasion sustained neural degeneration in the cerebral cortex detectable with both light and electron microscopy. The degeneration was more intense and included the hippocampus when acetaldehyde exposure was given on 5 consecutive days in the form of ethanol vapor inhalation and disulfiram injections. Pretreatment of animals with a combination 2.5 g lysine/kg plus 50 mg pyridoxyl phosphate/kg did not alter the degree of degeneration response to either a single injection of acetaldehyde or 5 days acetaldehyde treatment. Penicillamine injections (1.2 g/kg) did offer some (but not complete) cytoprotective value against the neurotoxicity of acetaldehyde. This cytoprotective action was effective at concentrations of acetaldehyde which are not distant from clinically observed concentrations.