ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Curcumin likely has wound-healing properties, but its poor pharmacokinetic attributes inhibit its potential. To overcome these limitations, a novel nanoformulation was previously developed, wherein curcumin was loaded into mesoporous silica particles. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to assess the efficiency of this nanocurcumin formulation as a wound-healing agent in an animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Curcumin was loaded onto mesoporous silica particles. Eighteen healthy, test-naive male Wistar rats were randomly separated into two groups of 9: Group 1 (control) rats were treated topically with a standard drug (sulfadiazine) and Group 2 with 1% curcumin formulation. A circular excision wound was made, and topical application was performed twice a day. The excision diameters were measured on days 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 of treatment. Three rats from each group were sacrificed on days 7, 14 and 21, and a cross-section from skin specimen in the excision injury was obtained for histological assessment of inflammation, angiogenesis, fibroblast proliferation, presence of collagen and reepithelization. RESULTS: Wound contraction percentage in rats treated with curcumin nanoformulation was nonsignificantly higher than that in the control group (P > 0.05). In both groups, inflammatory reactions considerably reduced by day 21 of treatment, the angiogenesis process was almost complete by day 7, fibroblast proliferation noticeably rose by day 14, and a high degree of wound reepithelization was achieved by day 21, with no significant differences between the groups. Interestingly, by day 21, the level of collagen significantly increased in curcumin nanoformulation-treated rats compared with those treated with sulfadiazine. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin nanoformulation likely enhanced wound repair by inhibiting the inflammatory response, stimulating angiogenesis, inducing fibroblast proliferation as well as enhancing reepithelization and synthesis of collagen. Therefore, the curcumin nanoformulation used in this study may have potential as a wound-healing ethnomedicine.
ABSTRACT
Drug addiction remains a prevalent and fatal disease worldwide that carries significant social and economic impacts. Recent reports suggest illicit pregabalin (Lyrica) use may be increasing among youth, however the addictive potential of pregabalin has not been well established. Drug seeking behavior and chronic drug use are associated with deficits in glutamate clearance and activation of postsynaptic glutamatergic receptors. In the current study, we investigated the abuse potential of pregabalin using conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Different doses of pregabalin (30, 60, 90, and 120 mg/kg) were used to assess the seeking behavior in mice. Glutamate homeostasis is maintained by glutamate transporter type-1 (GLT-1), which plays a vital role in clearing the released glutamate from synapses and drug seeking behavior. Therefore, we investigated the role of glutamate in pregabalin-seeking behavior with ceftriaxone (CEF), a potent GLT-1 upregulator. Mice treated with pregabalin 60 and 90 mg/kg doses demonstrated drug seeking-like behavior, which was significantly blocked by CEF pretreatment. These results suggest that pregabalin-induced CPP was successfully modulated by CEF which could serve as a lead compound for developing treatment for pregabalin abuse.
