The present study aimed to evaluate some of side effects of methotrexate adminstration (MTX) in the treatment of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis. Thirty Wistar male rats weighing 180-200 g were divided in 3 groups and arthritis was induced in them by using Complete Freund's Adjuvant, except in group I. In group II after the induction of arthritis no treatment was given. Group III received methotrexate as an anti-inflammatory medicine. After RA induction, all the animals received CFA near the site of tibio-tarsal joint subcutaneously. The clinical features of the adjuvant induced arthritis like difficulty in movement and edema in joint appeared 3 days after inoculation of adjuvant. The onset of inflammation was explosive occurring 13-15 days post inoculation with a peak onset at day15. The rats in group III received treatment with MTX subcutaneously from day 15 to day 30. At the end of experiment, blood collection was done for liver, kidney functions and heamatological observations. The present study demonstrated significant elevation in liver functions (ALT and AST) compared with normal control rats on the other hand there was increase in kidney functions but not significant. In contrast there was depletion in RBCs cont and Hb level.
The therapeutic application of scorpion venom (SV), has been used in traditional medicine. SV contains a variety of peptides that can treat variety of diseases, such as arthritis, rheumatism, pain, cancerous tumors, and skin diseases. Methotrexate (MTX) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. MTX is used to treat moderate to severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis. MTX is also used to treat shoulder pain caused by bursitis or tendinitis. Histological observations showed that diseased groups have edematous, thickened, and hyperplastic synovium membrane with reduction in joint space and empty lacunae appeared. On the other hand, scorpion venom high dose and Methotrexate caused reduction in size of synovium and regression of its inflammatory cell infiltrate with lacunae occupied appeared.
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