Organo-phosphate compounds- toxicology. Characteristics. Medical Activities
Written by Anam Hussain
General characteristics:
- Organo-phosphates are neuroparalytic toxic materials
- Widely used in agriculture as insecticides
- Can be solid, liquid or gas
- Always heavier than air
- Different colour: from colourless to yellow
- Are either odourless or do not have a specific smell
Routes of exposure are all incl:
- Inhalation
- Ingestion
- Dermal absorption
Pathophysiology
- Target: enzyme acetylcholinesterase
- Inhibits the activity of this enzyme in the synapses of neurones
- This inhibition occurs due to irreversible binding between active sites of enzyme and OP
- Cholinesterase has 2 active sites to which acetylcholine binds to one of them
- The result is dissociation of acetylcholine to acetyl and choline.
- Ops usually bind to the other, however new Ops can bind to both creating a bigger inhibiting effect
- This inhibition leads to pathological excess of acetylcholine in body
- This leads to blocking of Muscarinic and Nicotinic receptors
- Leads to impairment of nerve signal transmission
- Consequently, OPs intoxication is dominated by two syndromes: Muscarinic and Nicotinic syndrome