methylhydrazine

Epidemiology

• metabolite implicated in mushroom poisoning
• used as a rocket fuel & causes toxicity in aerospace workers

Pathology

• gastroenteritis
• hemolysis
• methemoglobinemia
• hepatorenal failure
• seizures
• coma

Mechanism of action

• apparently, structure of alkylating agent(s)
• like isoniazid, generates functional pyridoxine deficiency by inhibition of pyridoxine kinase
• pyridoxine kinase generates pyridoxal phosphate a cofactor for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) which catalyzes the formation of GABA from glutamate
• diminished production of the inhibitory neurotransmitter may predispose to seizures

Notes

• water soluble
• volatile

More general terms

• hydrazine

Database

• PubChem: http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=6061