A theoretical discourse on the pharmacology of toxic marine ingestions.

The known and theoretical pharmacology of poisons involved in toxic marine ingestions has assisted in the development of specific therapeutics for these afflictions. The clinical manifestations of several toxic marine ingestions have suggested toxins/cogeners that may be involved in the poisoning process, providing direction for the development of diagnostic laboratory tests, including those for cyclic ethers. Future investigations should involve utilization of acetaminophen and indomethacin for chronic ciguatera fish poisoning, and the evaluation of the role of polycyclic ethers in the temperature sensation reversal phenomenon of both ciguatera and neurotropic shellfish poisoning.