Pharmacological research : the official journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society
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Preparations from St. John's wort extracts are used in the treatment of depression in many countries and represent an accepted alternative to synthetic antidepressants or behavioural therapy. St. ⋯ John's wort extract as an antidepressant are supported by a large number of scientific publications. Within the wide range of components in St. John's wort extract, hyperforin plays an important, if not an outstanding role.
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Vasoconstrictor substances, as norepinephrine and epinephrine, were mixtured to local anesthetics to decrease their toxic effects and to prolong the depth of the anesthesia. However, these catecholamines produce systolic and diastolic hypertension. The effects of felypressin, a synthetic vasoconstrictor, upon arterial blood pressure and heart are lesser than those of norepinephrine or epinephrine, but due to its effects like oxytocin these catecholamines are yet the most used vasoconstrictors in association with lidocaine or another anesthetic salt. ⋯ The lidocaine hydrochloride 2% in the doses of 600 microg and 3% in the doses of 900 microg acted on the cardiovascular system reducing the arterial pressure and modifying the electrocardiogram, while the prilocaine hydrochloride, in the same doses, also reduced the arterial pressure, but did not modify the electrocardiogram. When norepinephrine was associated to lidocaine 3% hydrochloride, it was possible to observe that this salt always exercised its effect first and a protective effect against the fall of pressure produced for the lidocaine. The same protective effect did not occur when felypressin was associated with prilocaine hydrochloride 3%.
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Selenium pretreatment prevents bacterial translocation in rat intestinal ischemia/reperfusion model.
Protective role of selenium against free radical damage was first demonstrated in the heart and this effect was further questioned in other systems. In the present study, the effects of exogenously administered selenium on intestinal fine morphology, lipid peroxidation, and bacterial translocation (BT) in experimental intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model were examined. Thirty-two male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g were randomized into four groups. ⋯ Tissue MDA levels from the ileum specimens of selenium-treated rats were significantly lower than that of the I/R group (P<0.05). Our results provide evidence that the relationship between BT and lipid peroxidation in intestinal tissue is crucial. Selenium pretreatment reduces lipid peroxidation which contributes to the maintenance of intestinal mucosal integrity.
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Some reports have demonstrated that the vasoconstrictor effect of catecholamines may be amplified by felypressin. Thus, the association of felypressin and epinephrine with local anesthetics may be indicated to achieve more effective vasoconstrictor actions with fewer collateral effects from both the anesthetic and the vasoconstrictor. This study aimed to characterize the effects of felypressin and associations of felypressin and epinephrine upon the contraction force and the cardiac rate of the isolated rat heart (n=20) perfused by Langendorff's method. ⋯ After the administration of the association of 5.5IU felypressin and 4.5nmol epinephrine this increase was observed up to just 30s. The cardiac rate values obtained after the administration of the associations of 1.6 and 5.5IU felypressin with 4.5nmol epinephrine were lower than those seen after the use of 4.5nmol epinephrine alone. In this study it was observed that the association of felypressin with epinephrine decreased the effects of epinephrine which increases the cardiac rate and the contraction force in the isolated rat heart.
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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used as analgesics. Although the results of clinical studies indicate considerable disparity in the analgesic efficacy of NSAIDs, the pre-clinical models generally used for the study of nociception do not allow a clear distinction to be made between the analgesic properties of agents belonging to this family. As clinical pain is characterized by hyperalgesia, we evaluated the effects of NSAIDs with similar chemical structures but different selectivities for cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 in a new behavioural model of central hyperalgesia in rats. ⋯ However, only lornoxicam was fully effective for prevention of hyperalgesia. Our results indicate a dissociation between the anti-inflammatory and the anti-hyperalgesic activity of NSAIDs, where the latter seems to be more evident after the block of both COX-1 and COX-2. Finally, they suggest that our experimental model of thermal hindpaw hyperalgesia can be effectively utilized to assess the ability of different drugs to reduce central sensitization, and thus hyperalgesia.