ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A number of studies have shown that nicotine has an antidepressant-like effect. The prevalence of smoking is much higher in people suffering from depression. In addition, the administration of nicotine from transdermal nicotine patch can exert antidepressant activity in nonsmokers and the continuous infusion of nicotine to rats attenuates learned helplessness, a putative behavioral model of depression. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the neurochemical effect of nicotine on monoamine levels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of reserpinized rats as a model of depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, rats were divided into control animals treated with saline and reserpinized group which received a daily i.p injection of reserpine for 15 days to establish the animal model of depression. Starting from the 16th day, the reserpinized rats were divided into reserpinized rats, and reserpinized rats treated daily with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) for 15 and 30 days. After decapitation, the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of each rat were dissected out. The levels of monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine) were measured in each area using a spectrofluorimeter. RESULTS: The daily i.p injection of reserpine induced a significant decrease in monoamine levels in the cortex and hippocampus. Nicotine administration restored the changes in monoamine neurotransmitters induced by reserpine in both areas after 30 days. DISCUSSION: The data of the present study suggest that the antidepressant-like effect of nicotine could be mediated by the effect of nicotine on monoamine neurotransmitters in the cortex and hippocampus of rat brain.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Cortex/metabolism , Disease Models, Animal , Hippocampus/metabolism , Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism , Nicotine/pharmacology , Animals , Antidepressive Agents/pharmacology , Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use , Cerebral Cortex/drug effects , Depression/chemically induced , Depression/drug therapy , Dopamine/metabolism , Hippocampus/drug effects , Male , Nicotine/therapeutic use , Norepinephrine/metabolism , Rats , Reserpine , Serotonin/metabolismABSTRACT
Serum levels of glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase-alpha (GST-alpha) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined to evaluate their use in diagnosing hepatocellular damage in 75 children with liver disease. Except for level of GR in patients with HBV, GR, GST-alpha and MDA were raised significantly in patients compared with controls. At 100% specificity, the sensitivity of the 3 markers for detecting hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and schistosomiasis infection respectively were: 16.7%, 100.0% and 17.7% for GR; 33.3%, 62.1% and 38.2% for GST-alpha; and 25.0%, 10.3% and 29.4% for MDA. GR was more sensitive in hepatitis C infection, while MDA reflected changes in liver ultrasound and GST-alpha was the best indicator for histopathological changes.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/metabolism , Glutathione Reductase/blood , Glutathione Transferase/blood , Lipid Peroxidation , Liver Diseases , Malondialdehyde/blood , Adolescent , Analysis of Variance , Biomarkers/metabolism , Biopsy , Case-Control Studies , Child , Child, Preschool , Egypt , Female , Hepatitis B/complications , Hepatitis C/complications , Humans , Liver Diseases/diagnosis , Liver Diseases/etiology , Liver Diseases/metabolism , Liver Function Tests , Male , Schistosomiasis/complications , Sensitivity and Specificity , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Serum levels of glutathione reductase [GR], glutathione S-transferase-alpha [GST-alpha] and malondialdehyde [MDA] were determined to evaluate their use in diagnosing hepatocellular damage in 75 children with liver disease. Except for level of GR in patients with HBV, GR, GST-alpha and MDA were raised significantly in patients compared with controls. At 100% specificity, the sensitivity of the 3 markers for detecting hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and schistosomiasis infection respectively were: 16.7%, 100.0% and 17.7% for GR; 33.3%, 62.1% and 38.2% for GST-alpha; and 25.0%, 10.3% and 29.4% for MDA. GR was more sensitive in hepatitis C infection, while MDA reflected changes in liver ultrasound and GST-alpha was the best indicator for histopathological changes
