ABSTRACT
Depression is an important problem among diabetic patients. We have investigated the effect of some antidepressant drugs on plasma glucose and insulin levels in normoglycaemic and alloxan-induced diabetic mice. For this purpose the effects of nortryptiline (as an example of a tricyclic antidepressant) and fluoxetine and sertraline (as examples of selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitors) were examined on plasma glucose and insulin levels. Nortryptiline significantly increased glucose levels and reduced insulin levels in all animals. Although neither fluoxetine nor sertraline induced changes in insulin levels, both significantly reduced the blood glucose levels of mice. These results suggest that antidepressive treatment has important risks particularly for diabetics. Tricyclic antidepressants might induce an important decrease in glucose tolerance and worsen the control of diabetic patients. Selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitors, on the other hand, might reduce plasma glucose independently of insulin levels. This point is particularly important and should be remembered when insulin or oral antidiabetic agents are administered to diabetics, because of the possible risk of hypoglycaemia.
Subject(s)
Antidepressive Agents/pharmacology , Blood Glucose/analysis , Hyperglycemia/blood , Insulin/blood , Alloxan , Animals , Female , Fluoxetine/pharmacology , Male , Mice , Nortriptyline/pharmacology , Sertraline/pharmacologySubject(s)
Plants, Toxic , Tobacco, Smokeless , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Powders , Tobacco, Smokeless/pharmacology , TurkeyABSTRACT
Tribulus terrestris L. is an annual plant which has been commonly used in folk medicine as diuretic and against colic pains, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in Turkey. This study investigated the effects of liophilized saponin mixture of this plant on several smooth muscle preparations in vitro. The liophilized material was obtained from dried and powdered T. terrestris L. by specific extraction method for saponins. Median lethal dose (LD50) of saponin mixture on Swiss albino mice was calculated according to Litchfield-Wilcoxon method via i.p. route. LD50 and its 95% confidence limits were 813 and 739-894 mg.kg-1 respectively. Saponin mixture has caused a significant decrease on peristaltic movements of isolated sheep ureter and rabbit jejunum preparations in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). However it has been observed no effect on isolated rabbit aorta and its contractile response to KCl or noradrenaline (p > 0.05). According to these results it has been suggested that T. terrestris L. or its saponin mixture may be useful on some smooth muscle spasms or colic pains.
Subject(s)
Muscle, Smooth/drug effects , Plants, Medicinal/chemistry , Saponins/pharmacology , Animals , In Vitro Techniques , Lethal Dose 50 , Mice , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/drug effects , Rabbits , Saponins/toxicity , TurkeyABSTRACT
Maras Powder is a kind of smokeless tobacco widely used in lieu of cigarettes in the South-Eastern region of Turkey. In this study, we have evaluated micronuclei in buccal mucosa cells of habitual Maras Powder users. Therefore, we divided our subjects into three groups--smokeless tobacco users, smokers and non-smokers/non-users. The mean percentage of micronucleated (MN) cells was significantly higher in smokeless tobacco users and smokers than in non-smokers/non-users (P < 0.01) [corrected]. The mean percentage of MN cells was 1.86 +/- 0.26 in users and 1.99 +/- 0.30 in smokers. There was no difference between the mean percentage of MN cells in these two groups. In conclusion, the genotoxic effect of smokeless tobacco should be considered in addition to other known hazards.
Subject(s)
Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective/genetics , Mouth Mucosa/drug effects , Plants, Toxic , Smoking/adverse effects , Tobacco, Smokeless/toxicity , Adult , Aged , Humans , Male , Micronucleus Tests , Middle Aged , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
In the present study we investigated the effect of zinc-deficiency on chromosomal abnormalities and mitotic index, and the interaction of zinc-deficiency and methotrexate. Therefore, two zinc-deficient and two zinc-adequate diet received mouse groups were constituted. Methotrexate was injected to one of zinc-deficient and one of zinc-adequate diet groups. There were no structural and numerical abnormalities in all groups. However, mitotic index was significantly lower than other groups in zinc-deficient and methotrexate administered mice.
Subject(s)
Chromosome Aberrations , Chromosome Disorders , Zinc/deficiency , Animals , Body Weight , Bone Marrow/pathology , Bone Marrow Cells , Diet , Diploidy , Feeding Behavior , Female , Male , Methotrexate/pharmacology , Mice , Mitotic Index/drug effects , Zinc/administration & dosage , Zinc/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The genetic toxicity of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was investigated using the sister chromatid exchange technique in cultured human lymphocytes. A total of 48 patients were treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac or acetylsalicylic acid) for 2 weeks. The average numbers of sister chromatid exchanges in cultured lymphocytes from the patients, before and after treatment with these drugs, did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). These results indicate that treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 2 weeks does not induce sister chromatid exchanges in T lymphocytes.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/adverse effects , Sister Chromatid Exchange/drug effects , T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , Adolescent , Adult , Aspirin/adverse effects , Diclofenac/adverse effects , Female , Humans , Ibuprofen/adverse effects , Indomethacin/adverse effects , Ketoprofen/adverse effects , Male , Naproxen/adverse effects , T-Lymphocytes/ultrastructureABSTRACT
A type of smokeless tobacco, known as Maras powder, is widely used in lieu of cigarettes in the south-eastern region of Turkey. In the present study, we evaluated cytological smears obtained from the lesion of lower lip mucosa of 80 smokeless tobacco users. There were severe epithelial abnormalities in seven out of the 80 subjects. Punch biopsies from these cases disclosed dysplasia in three cases, carcinoma in situ in two, and carcinoma in the other two cases. There was mild dysplasia in two punch biopsies of the remaining 73 cases. Oral cancer in tobacco powder users appeared to be related to the length of use, as it was observed only in subjects with 15 or more years of exposure.
Subject(s)
Biopsy/methods , Mouth Mucosa/pathology , Mouth Neoplasms/pathology , Plants, Toxic , Tobacco, Smokeless/adverse effects , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Lip/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Mouth Neoplasms/etiologyABSTRACT
A kind of a smokeless tobacco (Maras powder) is widely used instead of cigarettes in the South Eastern region of Turkey. In this study we investigated the sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) inducing effect of this powder on the chromosomes of its users compared with smokers and nonsmokers using standard cell culture methods and SCE staining techniques. Average SCE per metaphase and total SCEs increased significantly among both smokeless tobacco users and smokers compared to nonsmokers (p < 0.01). However, the effect is significantly lower in smokeless tobacco users than in smokers (p < 0.05).
Subject(s)
Plants, Toxic , Sister Chromatid Exchange , T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , Tobacco, Smokeless/adverse effects , Analysis of Variance , Humans , Male , Mutagens/adverse effects , Smoking/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Tetanus is still responsible for many deaths, especially in the developing parts of the world. In this study, the prophylactic effect of ornidazole on experimental tetanus in mice was investigated. The initial minimum lethal dose (MLD) of Clostridium tetani spores was determined in mice and 100 MLD was applied to mice in experiments. Ornidazole was then administered at the dose of 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg/kg. In addition, penicillin and horse tetanus serum were also administered to other groups. According to the present results, ornidazole decreased the number of deaths in mice significantly in a dose and drug administration time dependent manner. These results suggest that, together with essential wound care and active immunization, ornidazole (or another nitroimidazole) may be a useful and supportive therapeutic agent in tetanus prophylaxis.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Ornidazole/therapeutic use , Tetanus/prevention & control , Animals , Clostridium tetani/drug effects , Colony Count, Microbial , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical , Female , Male , Mice , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Ornidazole/administration & dosage , SporesABSTRACT
1. In the present study, thiamphenicol caused a significant fall in ACh-induced frog rectus abdominis muscle contraction peaks and significant rightward shifts of the contractile response curves in a dose-dependent manner. 2. In addition, the maximal ACh response of muscle could not be obtained in presence of thiamphenicol. On the other hand, thiamphenicol did not alter KCl-induced contractions of the muscle at the same concentrations. 3. In contrast chloramphenicol did not cause any significant change in ACh-induced contraction peaks. 4. These results have suggested that thiamphenicol may have a neuromuscular blocking effect on frog rectus abdominis muscle.
Subject(s)
Muscle, Skeletal/drug effects , Neuromuscular Blocking Agents/pharmacology , Thiamphenicol/pharmacology , Acetylcholine/pharmacology , Animals , Anura , In Vitro Techniques , Kinetics , Muscle Contraction/drug effects , Muscle, Skeletal/physiology , Potassium Chloride/pharmacologyABSTRACT
In this study, we investigated whether nicotine may have a local anaesthetic action in mice, using the tail press and tail immersion tests. Nicotine increased the latent time of biting the clip in the tail press test (p < 0.001) and retarded tail withdrawal latency in the tail immersion test (p < 0.01), compared to controls. These results suggest that nicotine may possess a local anaesthetic action.
Subject(s)
Anesthetics, Local/pharmacology , Nicotine/pharmacology , Animals , Female , Immersion , Male , Mecamylamine/pharmacology , Mice , Nicotinic Antagonists/pharmacology , Pain Measurement/drug effects , Plants, Toxic , Prilocaine/pharmacology , Tobacco, SmokelessABSTRACT
In this study, endurance time in swimming exercise was evaluated in rats. Subcutaneous (S.C.) injection of nicotine decreased the endurance time in swimming exercise significantly, in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control group. At the dose of 0.125 mg/kg nicotine, the endurance time in swimming exercise remained unchanged, while at the doses of 0.25 and 0.375 mg/kg, it decreased significantly (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). This effect of nicotine was antagonized by pretreatment with hexamethonium 5 mg/kg S.C. These results suggest that nicotine may limit the physical performance.
Subject(s)
Nicotine/toxicity , Physical Exertion/drug effects , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Hexamethonium , Hexamethonium Compounds/pharmacology , Male , Nicotine/administration & dosage , Nicotine/antagonists & inhibitors , Physical Endurance/drug effects , Physical Endurance/physiology , Physical Exertion/physiology , Rats , Swimming/physiologyABSTRACT
In this study whether extracellular Ca++ is essential to produce an increase of tension of isolated rat duodenum by ACh, 5-HT, AVP and KCl-, was examined. KCl- and AVP-evoked contractions were almost totally prevented by Ca++ removal from bath solution. The increase of tension of isolated duodenum caused by ACh or 5-HT was totally prevented after adding nifedipine, a Ca++ channel blocker, into Ca free solution. Our results suggest that ACh or 5-HT utilizes intracellular as well as extracellular sources of Ca++ to produce contraction in rat duodenum, whereas AVP-or KCl evoked contraction was mainly due to influx of Ca from extracellular sources.
