Chapter A29: Succimer (2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid) and Dmps (2,3-Dimercapto-1-Propanesulfonic Acid)

INTRODUCTION

Succimer (meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, DMSA) is an orally active metal chelator that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lead poisoning in children with blood lead concentrations greater than 45 mcg/dL. Succimer is also used to treat patients poisoned with arsenic and mercury. Succimer has a wider therapeutic index and exhibits many advantages over dimercaprol and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid calcium ­disodium (CaNa₂EDTA), the 2 other chelators used for similar clinical problems. Animal studies demonstrate that succimer does not redistribute lead or arsenic to the central nervous system. The role of succimer alone and in ­conjunction with other chelators to treat lead encephalopathy continues to be defined.^64,78,107

HISTORY

Succimer was initially synthesized in 1949 in England.⁷⁶ In 1954, antimony-a,a′-dimercaptopotassium succinate (TWSb) was developed to treat ­schistosomiasis.⁴⁵ Antimony-a,a′-dimercaptopotassium succinate is antimony bound to the potassium salt of succimer in a 2:3 ratio, forming a water-soluble xenobiotic with 50 times less toxicity than the previously employed antimony compound, tartar emetic. Chinese investigators subsequently demonstrated the ability of the sodium salt of succimer to increase the LD₅₀ of tartar emetic 16-fold in mice (Chap. 85).¹¹⁹ An early review of the Chinese experience with intravenous (IV) succimer in the treatment of occupational lead and mercury poisoning suggested efficacy similar to IV CaNa₂EDTA in increasing urinary lead and to intramuscular (IM) DMPS (racemic-2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid) for mercury, with little observed toxicity.¹⁰⁵ This experience, the subsequent widespread use in Asia^{80,83,95,115,116,122} and Europe,^{18,37,43,46,67,105} and the realization that succimer could be used orally,^7,52 led to US-based animal experiments, human trials, and FDA approval in 1991 for the treatment of lead-poisoned children.

PHARMACOLOGY

Chemistry

Succimer is a white crystalline powder with a molecular weight of 182 Da and a characteristic sulfur odor and taste.⁶ Succimer is the highly polar and water soluble form of 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid.

Related Chelators

Racemic-2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS) is a chelator that, like succimer, is a water-soluble analog of dimercaprol (British anti-Lewisite {BAL}).^7,9,25 A dose of 15 mg/kg of DMPS is equimolar to 12 mg/kg of succimer. 2,3-Dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid has been used in the Soviet Union since the late 1950s and continues to be used in Russia and Eastern Europe. 2,3-Dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid, which is an investigational drug in the United States, is marketed in both oral and parenteral forms in Germany as Dimaval. Dimercaptopropane sulfonate seems promising in mercury and arsenic poisoning.^{3,5,7,9,11,14,25,48} Dimercaptopropane sulfonate is associated with an increase in ...