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Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of nutritional condition and simulated exposure to ozone on Glutathione (GSH), the activity of Na+/K+ ATPase and lipid peroxidation in rat brain. Male Wistar rats were fed with 7% and 23% protein diets. Two groups were formed for each nutritional condition: one group was exposed for 15 successive days to 0.75 ppm of ozone and the other to air. Subsequently, the brain was dissected in cortex, hemispheres, cerebellum, and brainstem to measure the activity of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ATPase, and levels of GSH. The activity of Na+/K+ ATPase increased in cerebellum of well-nourished rats exposed to ozone, while total ATPase and TBARS decreased in all studied areas in the malnourished groups. The levels of GSH decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the brain of rats fed with 7% of protein diet and exposed to ozone but increased in rats fed with normal diet and exposed to ozone. These results suggest that malnutrition causes alterations in the values of Na+/K+ ATPase, total ATPase, GSH, and lipid peroxidation, while ozone contributes to these modifications. As a consequence, both variables are involved in oxidative stress in the rat brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on services offered by the National Institute of Pediatrics that helps ensure the safe and effective use of drugs at this institution. Therapeutic drug monitoring is one of the main activities of the pharmacology laboratory, which allows physicians to define the optimal treatment based on the selected therapeutic agents. Determining a patient's serum drug concentration allows physicians to use pharmacokinetic values to individualize drug dosages. Another service offered by the institute is drug information service. A clinical pharmacologist directs the drug information service, which supplies objective, specific, and current drug information and promotes rational drug use. The service may provide information on the treatment of poisonings caused by agents such as drugs, chemical substances, plants, venomous animals, and environmental pollutants.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of splenda and stevia on dopamine and 5-HIAA levels, and some biomarkers of oxidative stress in the presence of cytarabine.Methods: Forty-eight young male Wistar rats each with a weight of 80 g (four weeks of age), distributed in six groups of eight animals each, were treated as follows: group 1, control (NaCl 0.9% vehicle); group 2, cytarabine (0.6 g/kg); group 3, stevia (0.6 g/kg); group 4, cytarabine + stevia; group 5, splenda; and group 6, cytarabine + splenda. Cytarabine was given intravenously (IV) while stevia and splenda were administered orally for five days, using orogastric tube. At the end of treatment, the animals were sacrificed and glucose levels in blood were measured. The brains were dissected for histological analysis and homogenated to measure levels of dopamine, lipid peroxidation (TBARS), serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA), Na+, K+ ATPase activity, and glutathione (GSH), using validated methods.Results: Sweeteners increased the glucose in animals that received cytarabine. Dopamine increased in cortex and decreased in striatum of animals that received stevia alone and combined with cytarabine. 5-HIAA decreased in striatum and cerebellum/medulla oblongata of animals that received sweeteners and cytarabine alone or combined. GSH increased in animals that received sweeteners and decreased with cytarabine. Lipoperoxidation decreased in groups that received sweeteners and cytarabine. Histopathological changes revealed marked degeneration of neuronal cells in animals treated with cytarabine.Conclusion: These results show that sweeteners as stevia or splenda may lead to the onset of unfavorable changes in dopamine and 5-HIAA. Antioxidant effects may be involved. Besides, histological changes revealed marked lesions of neuronal cells in experimental animals treated with cytarabine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of oseltamivir and indomethacin on dopamine and 5-HIAA levels and some oxidative biomarkers in brain and stomach of young rats in conditions of infection., Methods: Female Sprague Dawley rats in absence or presence of a live culture of Salmonella typhimurium (S.Typh), were treated as follows: PBS, group 1 (control); oseltamivir (100 mg/kg), group 2; indomethacin (67 µg/kg) group 3; oseltamivir (100 mg/kg) + indomethacin (67 µg/kg), group 4. The drugs were administered intraperitoneally every 24 hr for 5 days while S. Typh was give orally in the first and third day. C-reactive proteins was measured in blood on sacrifice, and from brain extract, dopamine and 5-HIAA levels as well as GSH, calcium, and H2O2 and total ATPase activity were measured by validated methods., Results: Dopamine increased significantly in cortex and cerebellum/medulla oblongata of groups that received indomethacin and oseltamivir. 5-HIAA increased significantly in all groups that received S.Typh. H2O2 decreased significantly in cortex regions of animals that received oseltamivir and indomethacin in presence of S.Typh. Total ATPase increased significantly in cortex and hemispheres of groups that received oseltamivir as well as in cerebellum/medulla oblongata and stomach of animals that received oseltamivir and indomethacin combined with S.Typh. GSH increased and calcium decreased significantly in stomach of animals that received oseltamivir or indomethacin alone or combined with S.Typh., Conclusion: These results demonstrate the association between inflammatory response, oxidative stress, dopaminergic, and serotonergic metabolism in an experimental inflammatory animal model.

Aim: The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of doxorubicin and cytarabine on biogenic amines and oxidative biomarkers in the brain of rats treated with oleic acid., Methods: Thirty-six Wistar rats distributed in 6 groups, were treated as follows: group 1 (control), NaCl 0.9%; group 2 doxorubicin (1mg/kg); group 3 cytarabine (70mg /kg); group 4 oleic acid (1500μl/kg); group 5 doxorubicin + oleic acid; group 6 cytarabine + oleic acid. All compounds were administered intraperitoneally for 5 days. The Rats were sacrificed after receiving the last administration and their brains were dissected in cortex, hemispheres, and cerebellum/medulla oblongata. Blood samples were obtained on sacrifice to assess the levels of glucose and triglycerides. In each brain region, lipoperoxidation (TBARS), H2O2, Na+, K+ ATPase, glutathione (GSH), serotonin metabolites (5-HIAA) and dopamine were measured using validated methods., Results: Cytarabine decreased the levels of dopamine, TBARS, GSH, H2O2 and ATPase in all regions. Doxorubicin combined with oleic acid increased the levels of GSH in cortex, and decreased ATPase in cerebellum/medulla oblongata., Conclusion: These results suggest that the reduction of dopamine and oxidant effect during cytarabine treatment could result in brain injury but could be prevented by oleic acid supplementation.

Purpose: The aim was to evaluate if morphine sulphate combined with cerebrolysin enhances the risk of oxidative damage in the presence of moderate hypoglycaemia., Methods: Wistar rats under starvation for 48h received a single dose of 215 mg/kg cerebrolysin or 4 mg/kg morphine sulphate. Glutathione (GSH) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels were measured in brain tissue, as well as lipid peroxidation, Na(+)-K(+) ATPase and total ATPase enzymatic activities, by fluorescence and spectrophotometric methods., Results: GSH and 5-HIAA levels decreased significantly (p<0.05) in animals which received cerebrolysin and morphine alone or combined. TBARS levels increased in all groups, but the values were statistically significant only in those animals that received cerebrolysin combined with morphine (p<0.05). Na(+)-K(+) ATPase and total ATPase activities decreased significantly in rats treated only with morphine, but the cerebrolysin and morphine groups showed a significant increase in these enzymatic activities., Conclusions: Results suggest that cerebrolysin as well as morphine induced changes in cellular regulation and biochemical responses to oxidative stress induced by moderate hypoglycaemia in brain.

The aim of the present study was to investigate if the severity of illness affected the pharmacokinetics of cefuroxime in 11 children diagnosed with multiple organ system failure. The patients were assigned to a severely ill group (group 1), a very severely ill group (group 2), or a control group (group 0). Blood samples were taken and cefuroxime concentrations were measured in plasma by HPLC after the first intravenous infusion of 100 mg of cefuroxime per kg of body weight. The pharmacokinetic profile of cefuroxime exhibited both one and two compartmental distribution. Statistically significant differences between the pharmacokinetic parameters of the severe (group 1) and the very severe patients (group 2) were found, and significant differences (p<0.05) in the pharmacokinetic parameters between groups 1 and 2 vs. the control group were observed for most of the parameters analyzed. However, there was no statistical difference in clearance between group 1 and the control group. The data indicate that the pharmacokinetic differences determined by severity of disease are useful for establishing an individualized regimen dosage in children with multiple organ system failure.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of cyanamide (CNM) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-), stable metabolites of nitric oxide (NO), serotonin (5-HT), tryptophan (Trp), and lipid peroxidation (TBARS) levels in rat brain. Twenty-four male Wistar rats (350 g) were used, divided in 3 groups of 8 animals each. Control group I received 0.9 % NaCl, CNM (40 mg/kg) was administered to group II, and SNP (20 microg/kg) to group III; all animals received a single intraperitoneal dose. The animals were sacrificed by decapitation and the brain was homogenized to measure the NO2-, NO3-, 5-HT, and Trp levels by liquid chromatography, and TBARS levels by spectrophotometry. NO2- levels significantly increased (p< 0.01) in the CNM group, while 5-HT and TBARS significantly increased (p = 0.001) both in SNP and CNM groups in relation to the control group. Trp levels presented a slight increase in the CNM group with respect to the control group. The results suggest that free radicals (Nitroxyl and NO) generated by CNM and SNP, respectively, are responsible for oxidative stress induced in brain.