ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin administration on amiodarone-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats
Materials and Methods:Thirty-six male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. The control group [CTL] received distilled water [0.3 ml intratracheally on days 0 and 2 and 0.5 ml orally from day 0 for 3 weeks]. The atorvastatin group [AT], in addition to intratracheal distilled water, received 1 mg/kg of atorvastatin orally from day 0 for 3 weeks. The amiodarone group [AMI] received 2 intratracheal instillations of amiodarone [6.25 mg/ kg in 0.3 ml of water] on days 0 and 2 and 0.5 ml of distilled water [like the CTL]. The amiodarone plus atorvastatin group [AMI + AT] received both these drugs [same doses and methods as for the AMI and AT]. After 28 days, the rate of lung fibrosis was estimated according to pathological criteria of lung sections and measurements of hydroxyproline in pieces of left lung tissue
Results:The lung hydroxyproline content was higher in the treated groups [CTL: 0.35 +/- 0.017, AT: 0.38 +/- 0.012, AMI: 0.375 +/- 0.018 and AMI + AT: 0.38 +/- 0.012 unit/mg protein], but did not reach significance when com- pared with the CTL [p = 0.56]. Amiodarone administration significantly increased the score of pulmonary fibrosis [0.5] in comparison with the AT [0.125] and CTL [0] [p < 0.5]. The combination of amiodarone and atorvastatin exacerbated the pulmonary fibrosis [1.5; p < 0.01] compared to the AMI [0.5; p < 0.001], AT [0.125] and CTL [0]
Conclusion:In this study, the concomitant administration of amiodarone and atorvastatin increased pulmonary fibrosis in rats
ABSTRACT
Accidents are the second reason for mortality and morbidity in Iran. Among them, brain injuries are the most important damage. Clarification of the effects of brain injuries on different body systems will help physicians to prioritize their treatment strategies. In this study, the effect of pure brain trauma on the cardiovascular system and lungs 24 hours post trauma was assessed. Male Wistar rats [n = 32] were divided into sham control and traumatic brain injury [TBI] groups. In TBI animals, under deep anesthesia, a blow to the head was induced by the fall of a 450 g weight from 2 m height. Twenty four hours later, heart electrocardiogram and functional indices, cardiac troponin I, IL-6, TNF-oc, IL-I[3 in tissue and serum, and the histopathology of heart and lung were assessed. The results showed that none of the functional, biochemical, inflammatory, and histopathology indices was statistically different between the two groups at 24 hours post TBI. Indices of impulse conduction velocity in atrium [P wave duration and P-R interval] were significantly longer in the TBI group. Overall, no important functional and histopathologic disturbances were found in heart and lung of TBI group after 24 hours. If the data is reproduced in human studies, the medical team could allocate their priority to treatment of brain disorders of the victim in the first 24 hours of pure TBI and postpone extensive assessment of heart and lung health indices to later time, thus reducing patient and health system expenditures