Drug exposure in early pregnancy might be related to the effects of increased maternal progesterone in implantation period.

AIM: This short communication aims to evaluate the relation in between drug exposure time and early pregnancy regarding gestational weeks. METHODS: The study covers the referrals made to the Department of Pharmacology for a teratogenic consultation in a 3-year period. From the recordings of pregnant women, the last menstrual period and the starting date of medication were used to determine the time of prescription with regard to gestational weeks. RESULTS: In all of the three years, potentially teratogenic medication was prescribed more frequently in the 3rd, 4th and 5th gestational weeks (in between 15-35 days of pregnancy). Approximately 75% of the pregnant women in the study were prescribed with drugs, most frequently with analgesics, antibiotics, gastrointestinal drugs and antidepressants, in these gestational weeks. CONCLUSIONS: The timing of prescriptions in early pregnancy frequently coincides with the increased levels of maternal progesterone in implantation period. Progesterone may lead to negative mood symptoms of an increased pain perception, anxiety, irritability and aggression in some of the pregnant women and therefore causes an increased stress condition which in turn may result in pain, infection and inflammation in the individual. Taking the frequently used medications into consideration, the reason for prescriptions in this period might be related to the symptoms originating from the effects of progesterone. Future studies are needed to better demonstrate this association of drug exposure and effects of maternal progesterone in early pregnancy.

Effects of a PPAR-gamma receptor agonist and an angiotensin receptor antagonist on aortic contractile responses to alpha receptor agonists in diabetic and/or hypertensive rats.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pioglitazone and losartan pre-treatment on the aortic contractile response to the alpha-1 agonist, phenylephrine, and the alpha-2 agonist, clonidine, in L-NAME-induced hypertensive, STZ-induced diabetic, and hypertensive diabetic rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to four groups: control, diabetic (DM), hypertensive (HT) and hypertensive diabetic (HT + DM) groups. Three weeks after drug application, in vitro dose-response curves to phenylephrine (Phe) (10-9-10-5 M) and clonidine (Clo) (10-9-10-5 M) were recorded in aortic rings in the absence (control) and presence of pioglitazone (10 µM) and/or losartan (10 µM). RESULTS: Pioglitazone and losartan caused a shift to the right in contractile response to phenylephrine in all groups. The sensitivity of the aortic rings to phenylephrine was decreased in the presence of pioglitazone and/or losartan in all groups. The contractile response of clonidine decreased in the presence of pioglitazone and/or losartan in the control, HT and DM groups. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity of aortic rings to alpha-1 and alpha-2 adrenoceptors was decreased in the presence of pioglitazone and/or losartan in diabetic and hypertensive rats. Concomitant use of PPAR-gamma agonists, thiazolidinediones, and angiotensin receptor blockers may be effective treatment for diabetes and hypertension.

The Effects of Topical Burow's and Castellani's Solutions on the Middle Ear Mucosa of Rats.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the early histopathologic effects of Burow's and Castellani's solutions on the middle ear mucosa of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted with 26 Wistar albino female rats. Gelfoam that was soaked in 4% Burow's solution was inserted into the middle ears of the rats in the Burow group (n=10); over 2 weeks, 0.1 mL Burow's solution was administered once a day through perforation into the middle ear. The same procedure was applied to the rats in the Castellani group (n=10) using classical Castellani's solution and to the rats in the control group (n=6) using physiological saline solution. At day 1 after the last administration, all groups were decapitated; their bullas were dissected. The bullas were histopathologically evaluated and graded with respect to increase in leukocytes with polymorphic nuclei, mononuclear cell infiltration, and fibrosis. The data obtained were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: In the Burow group, the fibrosis scores were significantly higher than those in the control group (p=0.039), the scores of leukocytes with polymorphic nuclei were significantly higher than those in the control group (p=0.034), and the total scores were significantly higher than those in the control group (p=0.022). CONCLUSION: We suggest Castellani's solution as a safe alternative in the treatment of otomycosis and external otitis in the presence of tympanic membrane perforation. However, because of the inflammatory changes it causes in the middle ear mucosa, we do not recommend the use of Burow's solution in the presence of tympanic membrane perforation.

The effect of Hypericum perforatum on isolated rat aorta.

CONTEXT: Different Hypericum species such as Hypericum perforatum (HP) L. and Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra are well known and widely used traditional medicine in Turkey. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effect of standardized HP extract on endothelium and vascular function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After suspending the aortas with endothelium in organ baths containing Krebs solution, contractile and relaxant responses were assessed in the absence and presence of HP (0.05 mg/ml). RESULTS: Although there were significant reductions in the contractile responses to phenylephrine (1113.73 ± 164.11; 477.40 ± 39.94; p < 0.05) and potassium chloride (745.58 ± 66.73; 112.58 ± 26.58; p < 0.05), no differences in the relaxant responses to acetylcholine (94.61 ± 2.65; 87.79 ± 9.40) and sodium nitroprusside (108.82 ± 5.06; 106.43 ± 7.45) were observed. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These data suggest that even the high dose of HP intervention does not bring any harmful effect on endothelium and smooth muscle function; meanwhile it might be beneficial on some of diseases accompanied with increased vascular contraction.

Melatonin attenuates renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in nitric oxide synthase inhibited rats.

Recent studies show that melatonin reduces the blood pressure (BP) and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced damage. This study was designed to investigate the effects of melatonin on the renal I/R injury in rats given the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). After right nephrectomy, I/R was induced by occlusion of the left renal vessels for 60 min, followed by 24h reperfusion. The administration of melatonin significantly attenuated BP in NOS-inhibited hypertensive rats. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, a stable metabolite of the free-radical-mediated lipid peroxidation cascade, were found to be significantly higher in the I/R group (3.48+/-0.2mg/l serum) than in the control group (2.69+/-0.2mg/l serum). L-NAME (40 mgkg(-1) for 15 days)+I/R significantly increased the MDA levels compared to I/R alone. Melatonin administration to L-NAME rats significantly reduced the MDA values resulting from I/R. We also demonstrated that I/R, and especially L-NAME+I/R, lead to structural changes in the kidney and that melatonin attenuates these changes. These results suggest that melatonin reduces BP and I/R injury in NOS inhibited rats by L-NAME.