Repeated treatment with a low dose of reserpine as a progressive model of Parkinson's disease.

Animal models are widely used to study alterations caused by Parkinson's disease (PD). However, in general, pharmacological models do not express the progressive nature of the disease, being characterized by immediate severe motor impairment after a single dose of the drug. Reserpine administration in rodents has been suggested as a pharmacological model of PD based on the effects of this monoamine-depleting agent on motor activity. Here, we describe that repeated administration with a low dose (0.1 mg/kg) of reserpine in rats induces a gradual appearance of motor signs, evaluated by catalepsy behavior. Furthermore, these motor signs are accompanied by increased levels of striatal lipid peroxidation. However, treatment with reserpine failed to induce memory impairments (evaluated by novel object recognition and discriminative avoidance tasks) and alterations in hippocampal lipid peroxidation. Thus, repeated treatment with low doses of reserpine progressively induces alterations in motor function and an increase in striatal oxidative stress, indicating a possible application of this model in the study of the neuroprogressive nature of the motor signs in PD.

[Case report on the clinical aspects and treatment of stomach ulcers caused by acute reserpine poisoning]. / Vurkhu klinikata i lechenieto na stomashnite iazvi, vuzniknali vsledstvie ostri rezerpinovi intoksikatsii, s prinos na edin sluchai.

A case is described of a 15 years old girl, taken about 40 tablets of retizid, attempting suicide. Pain in epigastrium and elevated temperature occurred on the second day and ESR quickly reached 50/70 mm. Numerous petechial and not complete erosions were established by fiber gastroscopy as well as ulcers all over the stomach with a bigger circulating in the region of antrum-pylorus. The 30-day treatment at the hospital covering a special diet, infusions of glucose with insulin, alvesin, cerucal and ampicillin during the first 10 days and alcid V throughout the treatment, rapidly eliminated the alterations, normalization of ESR and discharge of the patient as healthy on 38th day after the intoxication. The control examination 6 months later gave no pathological changes. It has been concluded that in those cases, changes in the stomach must be searched most actively, best gastroscopically, that should be treated at a hospital and the patients to be subjected to a follow-up care in the gastroenterological consulting rooms for at least 6 months.

LC/MS determination of bromazepam, clopenthixol, and reserpine in serum of a non-fatal case of intoxication.

Combined liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with a moving belt interface can be used as a rapid method for the determination of bromazepam, clopenthixol, and reserpine in serum samples obtained from cases of acute overdoses with combinations of these drugs. Low resolution detection limits are about 100 pg for the three drugs, while in high resolution mode the detection limit for bromazepam is shown to be at least 35 pg. Accurate masses were obtained in a serum sample within 5 ppm using high voltage scanning over a narrow mass range for about 10 ng of bromazepam and clopenthixol, respectively. Chemical deactivation of the belt was shown to effectively reduce memory effects and to improve the desorption characteristics of the belt leading to higher yields of evaporated intact molecules.

Reserpine toxicosis in a horse.

A single injection of reserpine in an adult horse was believed to induce toxicosis for several days. Clinical signs included erratic, colic-like behavior followed by depression, bradycardia, miosis, ptosis, and paraphimosis. Diarrhea was not observed and may have been due to the effect of xylazine given with the reserpine. The horse was supported with IV fluids and intensive nursing care. Gradual improvement was noted 72 hours after the horse received the drug. Qualitative analysis via high-performance liquid chromatography was positive for reserpine. Methamphetamine is the recommended antidote but was not used in this case.