Effect of lycopene on As2O3 induced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells.

It is known that oxidative stress may cause neuronal injury and several experimental models showed that As2O3 exposure causes oxidative stress. Lycopene, a carotenoid, has been shown to have protective effect in neurological disease models due to antioxidant activity, but its effect on As2O3-induced neurotoxicity is not identified yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of lycopene on As2O3-induced neuronal damage and the related mechanisms. Cell viability was determined by the MTT assay. Lycopene was administrated with different concentrations (2, 4, 6 and 8 µM) one hour before 2 µM As2O3 exposure in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. The anti-oxidant effect of lycopene was determined by measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS). MTT results and LDH cytotoxicity analyses showed that pretreatment with 8 µM lycopene significantly improved the toxicity due to As2O3 exposure in SH­SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Pretreatment with lycopene significantly increased the activities of anti­oxidative enzymes as well as total antioxidant status and decreased total oxidative status in As2O3 exposed cells. The results of this study indicate that lycopene may be a potent neuroprotective against oxidative stress and could be used to prevent neuronal injury or death in several neurological diseases.

Potential drug-drug interactions among prescriptionsfor elderly patients in primary health care.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Elderly patients are at high risk from drug-drug interactions (DDIs). This study evaluates the potential DDIs in Turkish elderly patients at a primary health care outpatient clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Online database systems were used to examine DDIs on the prescriptions of patients (n = 1206). The clinical severity of DDIs was classified by the Lexi-Interact Online database. RESULTS: Of the 5059 prescriptions, 33% were found to have DDIs. We detected 29 (0.9%) A, 380 (11.8%) B, 2494 (77.7%) C, 289 (9%) D, and 18 (0.6%) X risk rating category DDIs among the prescriptions. Prescriptions of female patients and patients aged between 65 and 72 years showed significantly higher number of DDIs. The frequency of DDIs increased both with the number of drugs and combined preparations per prescription. Acetylsalicylic acid and salbutamol were the most frequently prescribed drugs contributing to clinically important DDIs. Additionally, acetylsalicylic acid and escitalopram, which interact with each other, were found on the list of Beers criteria. The most predicted clinical outcomes of DDIs were increase in therapeutic efficacy and adverse/toxic reactions. Conclusions: Prediction of DDIs in elderly patients will provide better prescribing and drug safety. Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and beta-2 adrenergic receptor agonists should be closely monitored.