Comparative Study of the Neurotoxic Effects of Pregabalin Versus Tramadol in Rats

Abstract

In Egypt, both pregabalin and tramadol misuse increased in the last decade. Although many studies have confirmed the neurotoxic effects of tramadol, those of pregabalin are understudied. The aim of the study is to evaluate the neurotoxic effects of pregabalin compared with tramadol. Thirty male albino rats were included in this experimental study, and they were randomly allocated into three equal groups: group I (normal saline), group II (tramadol misuse), and group III (pregabalin misuse). All rats received the commenced drugs for 1 month. Open field tests were performed on the day of scarification, and after that, cortical samples were taken for immunohistochemical analysis and quantification of dopamine receptors’ gene expression. The drug misuse groups showed a significant decrease in weight gain at the end of the study. Open field testing showed the upper hand of controls regarding all of the tested parameters. Tramadol has a more negative impact on the locomotor parameters compared with pregabalin. Both drugs induced relatively low dopamine-1 receptor (D1Rs) expression to dopamine-2 receptors (D2Rs), mimicking the schizophrenia model. Both tramadol and pregabalin were associated with neurotoxic effects in male albino rats. These effects were less noticed with pregabalin. It is suggested that long-term abuse may end in psychosis.

A novel tramadol–polycaprolactone implant could palliate heroin conditioned place preference and withdrawal in rats: behavioral and neurochemical study

“…The present findings in the open field test are similar to those reported by Szkutnik-Fiedler et al (2012) and Ubale et al (2015). Although previous research showed inhibited locomotor activity after acute (Alemán-Laporte et al, 2022) or chronic tramadol administration to rats (Elsukary et al, 2022) in contrast to our observation of unaffected activity, it may be explained by the discrepancy of open The level of DA is known to be reduced after naloxone-induced withdrawal (Rada et al, 2004), which was observed in the present study. Synaptic plasticity is the main functional alteration of the brain that leads to adaptive behavior.…”

“…(2015). Although previous research showed inhibited locomotor activity after acute (Alemán-Laporte et al ., 2022) or chronic tramadol administration to rats (Elsukary et al ., 2022) in contrast to our observation of unaffected activity, it may be explained by the discrepancy of open field testing time relative to the tramadol time of last administration.…”

Nephrotoxicity after sub chronic misuse of gabapentin and the protective role of alpha-tocopherol, an experimental study

“…In this research, GBP wasn't included among the drugs which decrease the appetite, however; the author concluded that gabapentinoid drugs may also lead to increased appetite or moderate weight gain in children. Unfortunately, the result of this study goes in opposite way with a previous study on tramadol and pregabalin (Elsukary et al, 2022), similar studies (Shokry et al 2020;Elgazzar et al, 2021) and GBP misuse study (Welson et al, 2021) that were associated with loss of weight. This may be due to many factors such as; long duration of their studies that leads to prolonged depletion and exhaustion of the rats, relatively short duration of our study, tramadol use usually associated with gastritis and increased acid secretion that leads to loss of appetite and finally; the authors of these researches explained the loss of weight in rats to its lack of interest in their food intake.…”

“…Furthermore; continuous intake of the last dose was given for the next 10 days and another 10 days were included for withdrawal effects after sudden stoppage of GBP. This goes in the same way with many researches that use this addiction module (Taha et al, 2020;Elgazzar et al, 2021;Elsukary et al, 2022) and case reports (Yargic and Ozdemiroglu, 2011;Carrus and Schifano, 2012;Ashwini et al, 2015).…”