Milena Pacheco Abegg

Antidepressant behavioral effects of duloxetine and amitriptyline in the rat forced swimming test

PURPOSE To compare the effects of the antidepressant drugs duloxetine and amitriptyline on depressive behaviors in rats. METHODS Fifteen male Wistar rats were given systemic injections of duloxetine, amitriptyline or saline prior to a Forced Swimming Test (FST). Immobility and number of stops were measured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Kruskall-Wallis. RESULTS Rats given injections of duloxetine displayed fewer stops than the amitriptyline and control group (p< 0.05). The control group and Amitriptyline showed no difference (p=0.8). CONCLUSION Duloxetine reduced depressive behaviors in the Forced Swimming Test been more effective than amitriptyline.

Efeitos antidepressivos da duloxetina e da fluoxetina no teste do nado forçado em ratos

Purpose: To compare the effects of the antidepressant drugs duloxetine and amitriptyline on depressive behaviors in rats. Methods: Fifteen male Wistar rats were given systemic injections of duloxetine, amitriptyline or saline prior to a Forced Swimming Test (FST). Immobility and number of stops were measured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Kruskall-Wallis. Results: Rats given injections of duloxetine displayed fewer stops than the amitriptyline and control group (p< 0.05). The control group and Amitriptyline showed no difference (p=0.8). Conclusion: Duloxetine reduced depressive behaviors in the Forced Swimming Test been more effective than amitriptyline.

The effect of maternal hypercholesterolemia on the placenta and fetal arteries in rabbits

PURPOSE To investigate the degree of placental permeability in dyslipidemic rabbits and the consequent vascular dysfunction in fetuses of female rabbits with high lipoprotein levels. METHODS Fifteen adult females New Zealand White rabbits were divided into two groups. Group 1(n=5) - hypercholesterolemic diet with 0.5% cholesterol, and Group 2 (n=10) - control. On day 30, the levels of plasma lipoproteins and triglycerides were analyzed in the mothers, and the presence of collagen was analyzed in the placenta as well as in fetal coronary and aorta. Statistical analyses used the Students t and the Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS Lipoprotein levels were significantly different (p=0.02 to p<0.001) in experimental and control groups. In the hypercholesterolemic group, total cholesterol levels were in average 793 mg/dl; triglycerides were in average 257 mg/dl; HDL-C was 48 mg/dl, and LDL-C was in average 692 mg/dl. The amount of collagen per micrometers square (mµ²) in samples from hypercholesterolemic animals was significantly higher than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS The study confirmed placental permeability to lipoproteins, shown by increased amounts of collagen in fetal tissues. This alteration results in increased susceptibility to atherosclerosis in adult life, representing a risk factor for the early development of disease, which may appear even in the prenatal period.

Ácido Láctico como indicativo de aptidão física em ratos

INTRODUCTION: Experimental models are used for simulation of situations related to physical training. OBJECTIVE: This study had the objective of verifying the fitness of rats in training; this was achieved through the measurement of the concentration of lactic acid in the blood serum. METHODOLOGY: An experimental study using 40 Wistar male adult rats, divided into five groups of eight individuals and a control group was carried out. The first test of Maximum Effort (TE) was applied after one week of familiarization with the treadmill running and right before the first day of training. The following effort tests were applied at every ten days. In order to measure the concentration of lactic acid in the blood after the test; it 1ml of blood was collected from each rat. The Student t test was used to compare the means. RESULTS: Lactic acid serum significantly decreased in groups GE10, 20, 30 between the first and the last effort test. In the G30 there was a significant difference between the initial and final tests regarding speed (p = 0.003) and time (p = 0.018), as well as in the G40 group, where the initial velocity was (p = 0.0006) and time (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The results measured through the lactic acid in the blood showed that rats submitted to physical training present better metabolic capacity and that with suitable training, the physical fitness increased after the physical effort. This effort is well tolerated by the rats up to 40 days of treadmill running.