British anti-Lewisite and organomercury poisoning

Abstract

2,3-DIMERCAPTOPROPANOL (CH₂(OH)CH(SH)CH₂SH; BALH₃) is generally used in the treatment of mercury poisoning to help remove mercury from the body^1–3. It has been reported, however, that use of BALH₃, together with, or shortly after injection into laboratory animals of inorganic mercury^4–6, methylmercury^7–8, or phenylmercury^7–9 compounds results in a different initial distribution of mercury in the body than when the compounds are injected alone. For inorganic mercury, the results can be explained in terms of the timing and dosage of BALH₃ (ref. 6). For both methyl and phenylmercury compounds with BALH₃, the mercury content of the brain is greatly enhanced^7–9. Although the initial rapid (24 h) distribution of mercury in the animals treated for methylmercury poisoning with BALH₃ is similar to that achieved after 8 d in the absence of BALH₃ (ref. 8), this distribution is undesirable in cases of chronic mercury poisoning where the critical organ is the brain, in which it is metabolised more slowly than in most organs^10,11.