Amiodarone hydrochloride is a potent anti-arrhythmic agent, known as a multiple ion-channel blocker in the heart. Although it has been detected in the rat brain, there are no data related to its central nervous system (CNS) effects. In this study, we evaluated anticonvulsant and hypnotic effects of amiodarone. Convulsions were induced by phentylenetetrazole (PTZ) (100 mg/kg) or caffeine (300 mg/kg) in mice. In both models, amiodarone prolonged both latency period and time to death, and acted as an anticonvulsant drug. It was found to be more effective in the PTZ model than in the caffeine model; none of the animals treated with 150 mg/kg dose amiodarone had died in the PTZ model. For hypnotic effect, sleeping was induced with pentobarbital (35 mg/kg) in rats. Amiodarone dose-dependently increased the sleeping time (677.7%~725.9%). In the sleeping test, all rats in 200 mg/kg amiodarone group died. In conclusion, anticonvulsant and hypnotic effects of amiodarone have shown the depressant effects on CNS. These effects may be dependent on its pharmacological properties.
Amitriptyline is an antidepressant drug widely used as analgesic in the management of chronic pain syndromes. It is also attracting the attention of researchers as an alternative agent for peptic ulcer management because studies have shown that most patients with peptic ulcer also suffer from depression. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate gastroprotective effects of single and repeated dose administration of amitriptyline against indomethacin-induced gastric injury in rats. Rats were randomly divided into three groups of eight rats/each. For 14 days, Group I (control) and Group II (single dose) received distilled water; Group III (repeated dose) received 10 mg/kg amitriptyline orally once daily. On day 15, Group I was given distilled water; Group II and III were given 10 mg/kg amitriptyline orally. Thirty minutes later, indomethacin (25 mg/kg) was administrated orally to all the groups. Six hours after indomethacin administration, animals were sacrificed under thiopental sodium anaesthesia, stomachs were rapidly removed, cut along the greater curvature and cleaned. The stomachs were macroscopically evaluated; total area of stomach and visible ulcerated areas were measured using millimeter square paper. Finally, the stomachs were fixed in 10% formalin for histopathologic valuation. Single dose administration of amitriptyline significantly reduced ulcer indexes and gastric erosions as compared to the control group.However, its role against inflammatory reactions such as necrosis, polymorphonuclear leucocyte infiltration, neutrophil and eosinophil reactions were statistically insignificant. On the other hand, repeated dose administration of amitriptilyine produced significant gastroprotective effects as observed from macroscopical and histopathological evaluation results. Moreover, there was also a significant difference in the gastroprotective effects between single and repeated dose of amitriptyline against indomethacin-induced gastric damage. In conclusion, the results of this study evealed that repeated dose administration of amitriptyline showed better gastroprotective effects compared to single dose amitriptyline administration and the control group.
Keywords: amitriptyline, gastroprotective effects, indomethacin, histopathologic evaluation, rats
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.