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Selectivity of neuronal degeneration produced by chronic guanethidine treatment

  • Published:
Journal of Neurocytology

Summary

Chronic guanethidine treatment of rats produced extensive damage to sympathetic neurons of the superior cervical ganglion and pelvic plexus. No ultrastructural changes were observed in parasympathetic cholinergic neurons in the ciliary ganglion and pelvic plexus, nor in sensory neurons in nodose and dorsal root ganglia. A total of only six nerve cell bodies free of degenerative changes were observed in sections of superior cervical ganglia from 20 rats. This suggests either that the earlier estimates of 5% cholinergic neurons in the superior cervical ganglion based on acetylcholinesterase staining are too high, or implies that sympathetic cholinergic neurons, unlike parasympathetic neurons, are damaged by chronic guanethidine treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Human Morphology Unit, School of Medicine, The Flinders University of South Australia, 5042, Bedford Park, S.A., Australia

    J. W. Heath

  2. The Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University College London, WC1E 6BT, London, England

    G. Burnstock

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  1. J. W. Heath
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  2. G. Burnstock
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Heath, J.W., Burnstock, G. Selectivity of neuronal degeneration produced by chronic guanethidine treatment. J Neurocytol 6, 397–405 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01178225

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01178225

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