PARAQUAT - A SUPEROXIDE GENERATOR - KILLS NEURONS IN THE RAT SPINAL-CORD

Microdialysis was used to administer paraquat into the spinal cord of the anesthetized rat to determine the effects of the in vivo generation of the superoxide anion (O-2(.-)) on neurons. Exposure to paraquat caused blockage of axonal conduction, destruction of the cell bodies of neurons, and a general release of amino acids. Thus, paraquat is quite harmful to neuronal tissue. Similarities between paraquat-induced damage and that previously observed from the hydroxyl radical are consistent with paraquat, causing damage by generation of reactive oxygen species and the widespread belief that generation of O-2(.-) initiates the formation of destructive reactive oxygen species in a wide variety of traumas and other disorders.