2,3-DIMERCAPTOPROPANOL (CH2(OH)CH(SH)CH2SH;
BALH3) is generally used in the treatment of mercury
poisoning to help remove mercury from the body1-3. It has
been reported, however, that use of BALH3, together with, or
shortly after injection into laboratory animals of inorganic
mercury4-6, methylmercury7-8, or
phenylmercury7-9 compounds results in a different initial
distribution of mercury in the
... [Show full abstract] 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 enhanced7-9. 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
organs10,11.
