ABSTRACT
TP-7 is a synthetic analogue of tuftsin. It has a structure of tuftsin, to which three natural L-amino-acids Pro-Gly-Pro are attached. This heptapeptide improves learning and memorization and causes antidepressant and anxiolytic effect. It is possible to use TP-7 in the future to optimize cognitive functions and as a potential new anxioselective, fast-acting and easy-dosed drug. Therefore, it was purposeful to study such properties of the heptapeptide as its influence on anxiety-fear and body weight under a long-term treatment regimen. The experiment was performed on 24 preselected Wistar rats with the use of Rodina's method. There were three experimental groups of animals with high initial emotional reactivity: passive control group (P), active control group (A, receiving distilled water) and group treated with TP-7 at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg (T). The rats of A and T groups received intraperitoneal injections every day. The experiments were conducted 15 min after the administration of the drug, one and two days after initial testing day, then 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after that. The heptapeptide reduced the anxiety-phobic states significantly starting from the second day of drug application. The observed effects persisted throughout four weeks of the experiment, which confirmed effective long-term anxiolytic properties of the heptapeptide. TP-7 did not cause any changes in the body mass by itself.
Subject(s)
Anti-Anxiety Agents/pharmacology , Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Body Weight/drug effects , Oligopeptides/pharmacology , Tuftsin/pharmacology , Animals , Anti-Anxiety Agents/therapeutic use , Anxiety/drug therapy , Fear/drug effects , Male , Motor Activity/drug effects , Oligopeptides/therapeutic use , Phobic Disorders/drug therapy , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Reaction Time/drug effects , Time Factors , Tuftsin/analogs & derivatives , Tuftsin/therapeutic useABSTRACT
The study dealt with a popular drug diazepam also known as Relanium. Two doses of the substance were tested: 0.2 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg. The experiment was carried out on 10-rabbit groups for two hours. The animals were observed in peaceful environment of the laboratory after one hour of adaptation. There were distinguished a few phases of behaviour: active and passive observation, comfort, tension, grooming, food and water intake. Both doses eliminated completely the tension phase. Changes in other phases were similar to each other but depending on the dose there were differences in strength and duration. The smaller dose caused significant prolongation of the comfort phase at the expense of active and passive observation time decrease during the first hour of observation. The second hour trends were not changed but lost their statistical relevance. The changes caused by the bigger dose were almost identical and they were statistically significant during both hours of the experiment, but their amplitude was stronger than that caused by the lower dose. The outcome of the experiment confirms anxiolytic, sedative and miorelaxant properties of diazepam.
