US EPA

6605422 

Journal Article 

BEHAVIORAL AND GLIAL CELL EFFECTS OF INHALATION EXPOSURE TO STYRENE VAPOR WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INTERACTIONS OF SIMULTANEOUS PER ORAL ETHANOL INTAKE 

Savlolainen, H; Helojoki, M; Tengen-Junnila, M 

1980 

Yes 

Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica
ISSN: 0001-6683 

46 

1 

51-56 

BCI:BCI198069075355 

Male Wistar rats were exposed to 300 ppm of styrene vapor with simultaneous ethanol ingestion for 4-17 wk. The effects on behavior were analyzed after 4, 9 and 13 wk of the experiment. The most manifest behavioral effects were found in rats exposed to the combination, and the changes included increased preening time at the 4th wk and increased ambulation and rearing at the end of the exposure. The ethanol ingestion also affected the accumulation of the solvent burden by delaying the peak solvent concentration in the perirenal fat to the 8th wk of exposure. The fat solvent concentration did not differ from each other in the 2 groups at the end of the experiment, and they were similar as compared the concentration found in phenobarbital-pretreated rats exposed for reference. The styrene exposure had almost no effects on cerebral glial cells whereas ethanol induced unexpectedly increased protein destruction in them throughout the experiment. Co-exposure to ethanol and styrene decreased the magnitude of protein destruction in the glial cells. Withdrawal of the rats after an 8-wk exposure showed that the styrene effcts were largely abolished in 2 wk of exposure-free period as analyzed by the determination of brain RNA and acid proteinase activity. Brain RNA was lower than control after 2 wk of ethanol deprivation. Marked metabolic interactions between ethanol and styrene evidently take place in agreement with experience on other similar solvent combinations.