THE ACTION OF PROMETHAZINE (PHENERGAN) IN PROTECTING MICE AGAINST DEATH DUE TO HISTAMINE

Abstract

It is well known that mice are relatively insensitive to histamine. Figures quoted by respectively. It has also been shown (Halpern, 1942, 1947a, b; Bovet and Walthert, 1944; Mayer and Broussaud. 1946) that histamine antagonists are unable to protect mice from the lethal effects of histamine and may indeed increase its toxicity. Even promethazine (phenergan), which is able to protect the guinea-pig against 1,500 times the normally lethal dose, cannot protect the mouse against one single lethal dose of histamine. Adrenalectomy increases the sensitivity of animals to histamine as well as to other substances (Dale, 1920; Kellaway and Cowell, 1923; Crivalleri, 1927; Marmoston-Gottesmann and Gottesmann, 1928). According to these authors this increase in the toxicity of histamine in adrenalectomized animals is mainly due to the lack of adrenaline and not to deficiency of cortical hormones.