RESUMEN
Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is one of the most popular analgesics for the management of fever and pain but few reports have investigated its antidepressant-like effect. Moreover, the role of the opioidergic pathway has been indicated in depression pathophysiology. This study aimed to examine the involvement of the opioid receptors in the antidepressant-like effect of acetaminophen after acute and sub-chronic administration using mice forced swimming test (FST). Our finding showed that administration of acetaminophen (50 and 100â¯mg/kg, i.p.) 30â¯min before the FST produced an antidepressant effect which was reduced by naloxone (1â¯mg/kg, i.p., a nonselective opioid receptor antagonist). Moreover, we observed that acetaminophen in higher doses (200 and 400â¯mg/kg) was ineffective. Also, the response of the non-effective dose of acetaminophen (25â¯mg/kg) was potentiated by the non-effective dose of morphine (0.1â¯mg/kg) in the FST that was antagonized by naloxone. Also, in contrast to morphine (10â¯mg/kg), acetaminophen (100â¯mg/kg, i.p.) induced neither tolerance to the anti-immobility behavior nor withdrawal syndrome after repeated administration. In addition, RT-PCR showed that hippocampal mu- and kappa-opioid receptor mRNA expression increased in mice after repeated administration of acetaminophen; however, morphine therapy for 6 days did not affect kappa-opioid receptor expression. Our findings demonstrated that acetaminophen in lower doses but not high doses revealed an antidepressant-like activity without inducing tolerance and withdrawal syndromes. Moreover, the observed effect of acetaminophen may be via altering the opioid system, particularly hippocampal mu- and kappa-receptors.
Asunto(s)
Acetaminofén , Antidepresivos , Relación Dosis-Respuesta a Droga , Naloxona , Antagonistas de Narcóticos , Animales , Acetaminofén/farmacología , Acetaminofén/administración & dosificación , Masculino , Ratones , Antidepresivos/farmacología , Antidepresivos/administración & dosificación , Naloxona/farmacología , Antagonistas de Narcóticos/farmacología , Antagonistas de Narcóticos/administración & dosificación , Natación , Depresión/tratamiento farmacológico , Depresión/metabolismo , Morfina/farmacología , Morfina/administración & dosificación , Hipocampo/efectos de los fármacos , Hipocampo/metabolismo , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Analgésicos Opioides/farmacología , Analgésicos Opioides/administración & dosificación , Analgésicos no Narcóticos/farmacología , Analgésicos no Narcóticos/administración & dosificación , Receptores Opioides/metabolismo , Receptores Opioides/efectos de los fármacos , Receptores Opioides mu/metabolismo , Receptores Opioides mu/efectos de los fármacosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Diabetes is recognized as a great concern and a public health problem worldwide. Several factors including environmental and genetic factors have been involved. Recently, infectious agents such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been reported to be associated with diabetes. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of HCV infection among patients with diabetes type 2 in Ahvaz city, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control study design was conducted at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. A total of 600 study subjects were included in this research. All the patient sera were tested for Anti-HCV antibody, HBsAg, and HIV antibody. The sera of positive Anti-HCV antibody, were assayed for 5'- UTR and core regions of the HCV genome by Nested RT-PCR. Finally, the HCV genotyping was determined by sequencing. RESULTS: The prevalence of HCV in type 2 diabetes and nondiabetic controls was 2% and 0.33%, respectively. The distribution of HCV genotypes among the HCV-positive patients were 3a (1.66%) and 1a (0.33%). CONCLUSION: To control and improve the treatment, the screening of HCV infection with anti-HCV antibody was followed by molecular techniques such as PCR and HCV genotyping which should be implemented for all patients with diabetes type 2.