scholarly journals A New Look at an Old Drug: Cumulative Effects of Low Ribavirin Doses in Amphetamine-Sensitized Rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (31) ◽  
pp. 3884-3894
Author(s):  
Branka Petković ◽  
Srđan Kesić ◽  
Slavica Ristić ◽  
Željko Pavković ◽  
Jelena Podgorac ◽  
...  

Background: Psychotic states related to psychostimulant misuse in patients with hepatitis C virus infection may complicate acceptance and reaction to antiviral treatment. This observation equally applies to the widely used ribavirin therapy. Objective: We examined psychomotor and body weight gain responses to low ribavirin doses after cessation of intermittent amphetamine treatment in adult rats to assess its role in neurobehavioral outcome during psychostimulant withdrawal. Method: The model of amphetamine-induced (1.5 mg/kg/day, i.p., 7 consecutive days) motor sensitization and affected body weight gain was established in adult male Wistar rats. Then, additional cohort of amphetaminesensitized rats was subjected to saline (0.9% NaCl; 1 mL/kg/day; i.p.) or ribavirin (10, 20 and 30 mg/kg/day, i.p.) treatment for 7 consecutive days. Animals’ motor activity in a novel environment was monitored after the 1st and the 7th saline/ribavirin injection. Body weight gain was calculated as appropriate. Determination and quantification of ribavirin in the brain tissue were performed also. Results: The 1st application of ribavirin to amphetamine-sensitized rats affected/decreased their novelty-induced motor activity only at a dose of 30 mg/kg. After the 7th application, ribavirin 30 mg/kg/day still decreased, while 10 and 20 mg/kg/day increased novelty-induced motor activity. These behavioral effects coincided with the time required to reach maximum ribavirin concentration in the brain. Body weight gain during withdrawal was not influenced by any of the doses tested. Conclusion: Ribavirin displays central effects that in repeated treatment, depending on the applied dose, could significantly influence psychomotor response but not body weight gain during psychostimulant/amphetamine withdrawal.

Endocrinology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (10) ◽  
pp. 2441-2452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomokazu Hata ◽  
Noriyuki Miyata ◽  
Shu Takakura ◽  
Kazufumi Yoshihara ◽  
Yasunari Asano ◽  
...  

Abstract Anorexia nervosa (AN) results in gut dysbiosis, but whether the dysbiosis contributes to AN-specific pathologies such as poor weight gain and neuropsychiatric abnormalities remains unclear. To address this, germ-free mice were reconstituted with the microbiota of four patients with restricting-type AN (gAN mice) and four healthy control individuals (gHC mice). The effects of gut microbes on weight gain and behavioral characteristics were examined. Fecal microbial profiles in recipient gnotobiotic mice were clustered with those of the human donors. Compared with gHC mice, gAN mice showed a decrease in body weight gain, concomitant with reduced food intake. Food efficiency ratio (body weight gain/food intake) was also significantly lower in gAN mice than in gHC mice, suggesting that decreased appetite as well as the capacity to convert ingested food to unit of body substance may contribute to poor weight gain. Both anxiety-related behavior measured by open-field tests and compulsive behavior measured by a marble-burying test were increased only in gAN mice but not in gHC mice. Serotonin levels in the brain stem of gAN mice were lower than those in the brain stem of gHC mice. Moreover, the genus Bacteroides showed the highest correlation with the number of buried marbles among all genera identified. Administration of Bacteroides vulgatus reversed compulsive behavior but failed to exert any substantial effect on body weight. Collectively, these results indicate that AN-specific dysbiosis may contribute to both poor weight gain and mental disorders in patients with AN.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (6) ◽  
pp. R1617-R1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Michaud ◽  
Hymie Anisman ◽  
Zul Merali

Bombesin (BN) suppresses food intake in rats whether given centrally or systemically. Although the brain BN-sensitive receptors are known to be essential for the anorexic effect of systemic BN, the mode of communication between the gut and the brain remains unclear. This study assessed whether the anorexic effect of systemic BN is mediated humorally or via neural circuits. Afferent neurons were lesioned using capsaicin (50 mg/kg sc) on postnatal day 2, and responses to BN were assessed during adulthood. Capsaicin treatment decreased body weight gain significantly from postnatal age 4–7 wk. Peripheral BN (4–16 μg/kg ip) dose dependently suppressed food intake in control animals. However, this effect was completely blocked in capsaicin-treated rats. In contrast to systemic effects, feeding-suppressant effects of centrally administered BN (0.01–0.5 μg icv) were not affected by capsaicin treatment. This research suggests that peripheral BN communicates with the brain via a neuronal system(s) whose afferent arm is constituted of capsaicin-sensitive C and/or Aδ-fibers, whereas the efferent arm of this satiety- and/or anorexia-mediating circuitry is capsaicin resistant.


Metabolism ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Fuente-Martín ◽  
Miriam Granado ◽  
Cristina García-Cáceres ◽  
Miguel A. Sanchez-Garrido ◽  
Laura M. Frago ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (6) ◽  
pp. R1560-R1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Varma ◽  
Jing He ◽  
Lisa Weissfeld ◽  
Sherin U. Devaskar

We investigated the effect of repetitive postnatal (2–7 days) intracerebroventricular administration of neuropeptide Y (NPY) on food intake and body weight gain in the 3- to 120-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. NPY caused a 32% transient increase in body weight gain with elevated circulating insulin concentrations within 24 h. This early intervention led to the persistence of hyperinsulinemia and relative hyperleptinemia with euglycemia in the 120-day-old female alone. This perturbation was associated with 50% suppression in adult female hypothalamic NPY concentrations and a 50–85% decline in NPY immunoreactivity in the paraventricular and arcuate nuclei. This change was paralleled by a ∼20% decline in food intake and body weight gain at 60 and 120 days. However, when exogenous NPY was stereotaxically reinjected into the paraventricular nucleus of the ∼120-day-old adult females who were pretreated with NPY postnatally, an increase in food intake and body weight gain was noted, attesting to no disruption in the NPY end-organ responsivity. We conclude that postnatal intracerebroventricular NPY has long-lasting effects that predetermine the resultant adult phenotype in a sex-specific manner.


Author(s):  
Iram Nazish ◽  
Shahid H Ansari

Abstract Context Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (family-Phyllanthaceae) fruits, known commonly as amla, is extensively used in Indian traditional system of medicine for the treatment of various disorders. The ethanolic E. officinalis extract is reported to have various activity such as antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity in experimental animals. Objective To evaluate anti-obesity effect of aqueous E. officinalis extract in murine model of high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Materials and methods Male Wistar rats fed with HFD (20 g/day/rat, p.o) for a period of 42 days were used to induce obesity. Aqueous E. officinalis extract (20 mg/kg bw) administered orally to HFD-fed rats from day 8 to 50 days for a period of 42 days. Body weight gain, serum lipids, insulin and leptin parameters were measured. Results Oral feeding of the aqueous E. officinalis extract (20 mg/kg) to HFD-induced obese rats for a period of 42 days resulted in significant reduction in body weight gain, insulin, leptin, lipids as compared to rats fed HFD alone. Further, the extract also showed significant increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels. Discussion and conclusions These results show that aqueous E. officinalis extract possess significant anti-obesity potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4533
Author(s):  
Yugo Kato ◽  
Yoshinori Aoki ◽  
Koji Fukui

Obesity induces serious diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It has been reported that obesity increases the risk of cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction is a characteristic symptom of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. However, the detailed mechanisms of obesity-induced cognitive dysfunction have not yet been elucidated. The onset and progression of obesity-induced severe secondary diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular events, and hypertension are deeply connected to oxidative stress. We hypothesized that obesity induces cognitive dysfunction via acceleration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Vitamin E, which is a lipophilic vitamin, has strong antioxidative effects and consists of two groups: tocopherols and tocotrienols. Recently, it has been demonstrated that tocotrienols have strong neuroprotective and anti-obesity effects. In this study, we fed mice a high-fat diet (HFD) from 9 to 14 months of age and assessed the effect of tocotrienols treatment on body weight, brain oxidation levels, and cognitive function. The results revealed that treatment with tocotrienols inhibited body weight gain; further, tocotrienols reached the brain and attenuated oxidation in HFD-treated mice. These results indicate that tocotrienols have anti-obesity effects and inhibit obesity-induced brain oxidation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (4) ◽  
pp. R756-R763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Ruffin ◽  
Tiziana Adage ◽  
Folkert Kuipers ◽  
Jan H. Strubbe ◽  
Anton J. W. Scheurink ◽  
...  

Obesity is frequently associated with leptin resistance. The present study investigated whether leptin resistance in rats is present before obesity develops, and thus could underlie obesity induced by 16 wk exposure to a liquid, palatable, high-energy diet (HED). Before HED exposure, male Wistar rats (weighing between 330 and 360 g) received intravenous infusions of 20 μg leptin 2 h before dark (∼57 μg/kg rat). Relative to saline infusion, this caused a highly variable effect on food intake (ranging between -94 and +129%), with food intake suppression that appeared negatively correlated with HED-induced increases in body weight gain, caloric intake, adiposity, and plasma leptin levels. In contrast, leptin's thermogenic response was positively correlated to body weight gain linked to weights of viscera, but not to adiposity. Before HED exposure, leptin unexpectedly increased food intake in some rats (fi+, n = 8), whereas others displayed the normal reduction in food intake (fi-, n = 7). HED-exposed fi+ rats had higher plasma leptin levels, retroperitoneal fat pad weight, HED intake, and body weight gain than fi- and chow-fed rats. These parameters were also higher in HED-exposed fi- rats relative to chow rats, except for plasma leptin concentrations. It is concluded that leptin's reduced efficacy to suppress food intake could predict obesity on an HED. An unexpected orexigenic effect of leptin might potentially contribute to this as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99
Author(s):  
Amanda G. Elias ◽  
Julia S. da Silva ◽  
Rafaela L. Klein ◽  
Francieli U. I. Amaral ◽  
Marcelo D. Arbo ◽  
...  

Introduction: Nimesulide is a potent anti-inflammatorywith rapid and long-lasting effects, but also with a high riskof hepatotoxicity. Objective: This work aimed to preventnimesulide-induced hepatotoxicity through the associationof nimesulide with a hepatoprotective agent. Materials andMethods: First, we tested three hepatoprotective agents:N-acetylcysteine, L-carnitine, and Gingko biloba extract inan in vitro hepatic cell model. Both N-acetylcysteine and G.biloba showed promisor results. We selected N-acetylcysteineto continue the studies in an animal model. In vivo study wasperformed using male Wistar rats divided in 4 groups: control,nimesulide (100mg/kg/day), nimesulide (100mg/kg/day) +N-acetylcysteine (100mg/kg/day) and N-acetylcysteine alone(100mg/kg/day). Treatments were given by gavage, daily, for15 days. Results: Animals receiving nimesulide alone showedlower body weight gain compared to control. Body weightgain in the nimesulide + N-acetylcysteine group was higherthan nimesulide alone, evidencing lower toxicity. However,the body weight gain of the nimesulide + N-acetylcysteinegroup was still lower than the control animals. Animals treatedwith nimesulide alone presented an increased relative mass ofheart, liver, and spleen and significant hepatic damage seen inmicroscopy when compared to other groups. N-acetylcysteineco-administered with nimesulide prevented the increasedheart mass, but the same was not true with liver and spleen.Conclusions: This work evidence partial protection elicitedby the association of N-acetylcysteine and nimesulide againstnimesulide-induced hepatotoxicity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branka Petkovic ◽  
Gordana Stojadinovic ◽  
Srdjan Kesic ◽  
Slavica Ristic ◽  
Ljiljana Martac ◽  
...  

Clinically-related basic studies on the behavioral effects of ribavirin treatment are still lacking despite its wide use as an antiviral medication. This paper considers the effects of low ribavirin doses (10, 20 and 30 mg/kg/day) on psychomotor activity (novelty-induced exploratory behavior, d-amphetamine (AMPH, 1.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal)-induced motor activity), and body weight gain in socially undisturbed adult male Wistar rats 24 h after the first, seventh and fourteenth once-a-day injection. Low doses of ribavirin were tested in an attempt to avoid the recognized systemic side effects related to high-dose usage. None of the singly applied ribavirin doses affected exploratory/spontaneous and AMPH-induced motor behavior (locomotion, stereotypy-like and vertical activity), however, body weight gain was significantly lower after treatment with 30 mg/kg of ribavirin. The 7- and 14-day treatments with 10 and 30 mg/kg/day of ribavirin significantly suppressed novelty-induced locomotion and body weight gain; the 14-day treatment with ribavirin at a dose of 30 mg/kg/ day decreased AMPH-induced stereotypy. These findings indicate that repeated application (up to 14 days) of low ribavirin doses results in low novelty-induced locomotion along with reduced weight gain, accentuating the existence of a U-shaped dose-response relationship with a prolonged duration of ribavirin treatment.


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