Effects of rolipram and roflumilast, phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors, on hypertension-induced defects in memory function in rats.

Hypertension (HT) is a prevailing risk factor for cognitive impairment, the most common cause of vascular dementia; yet, no possible mechanism underlying the cognitive impairment induced by hypertension has been identified so far. Inhibition of PDE-4 has been shown to increase phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein in the hippocampus and enhance the memory performance. Here, we examined the effects of PDE-4 inhibitors, rolipram and roflumilast, on the impairment of learning and memory observed in hypertensive rats. We used 2k-1c hypertensive model to induce learning and memory defects. In addition, mRNA expression of PDE-4 sub-types A-D was also assessed in the hippocampus tissue. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured by tail-cuff method was significantly increased in 2k-1c rats when compared to sham operated rats; this effect was reversed by clonidine, whereas, PDE-4 inhibitors did not. PDE-4 inhibitors significantly reversed time induced memory deficit in novel object recognition task (NORT). Further, the retention latency on the second day in the elevated plus maze model was significantly shortened after repeated administration of rolipram and roflumilast. Plasma and brain concentrations of rolipram, roflumilast and roflumilast N-oxide were also measured after the NORT and showed linear increase in plasma and brain concentrations. The PDE4B and PDE4D gene expression was significantly enhanced in hypertensive rats compared with sham operated however PDE4A and PDE4C remained unaltered. Repeated treatment with PDE-4 inhibitors caused down regulation of PDE4B and PDE4D in hypertensive rats. These results suggest that inhibition of PDE-4 ameliorates HT-induced impairment of learning and memory functions.

Development and validation of a sensitive and high-throughput LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of esomeprazole and naproxen in human plasma.

A sensitive and high-throughput LC-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the combined determination of esomeprazole and naproxen in human plasma with ibuprofen as internal standard. Solid-phase extraction was used to extract both analytes and internal standard from human plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved in 4.0 min on XBridge C18 column using acetonitrile-25 mM ammonium formate (70:30, v/v) as mobile phase. Mass detection was achieved by ESI/MS/MS in negative ion mode, monitoring at m/z 344.19 → 194.12, 229.12 → 169.05 and 205.13 → 161.07 for esomeprazole, naproxen and IS, respectively. The calibration curves were linear from 3.00 to 700.02 ng/mL for esomeprazole and 0.50 to 150.08 ng/mL for naproxen. The intra- and inter-batch precision and accuracy across four quality control levels met established criteria of US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The assay is suitable for measuring accurate esomeprazole and naproxen plasma concentrations in human bioequivalence study following combined administration.

Development of a rapid and sensitive SPE-LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous estimation of fluoxetine and olanzapine in human plasma.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay with tandem mass spectrometric detection was developed to simultaneously quantify fluoxetine and olanzapine in human plasma. The analytes and the internal standard (IS) duloxetine were extracted from 500 µL aliquots of human plasma through solid-phase extraction. Chromatographic separation was achieved in a run time of 4.0 min on a Hypersil Gold C18 column (50 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water containing 2% formic acid (70:30, v/v), at a flow-rate of 0.5 mL/min. Detection of analytes and internal standard was performed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, operating in positive-ion and multiple reaction monitoring acquisition mode. The protonated precursor to product ion transitions monitored for fluoxetine, olanzapine and IS were m/z 310.01 → 147.69, 313.15 → 256.14 and 298.1 → 153.97, respectively. The method was validated over the concentration range of 1.00-150.20 ng/mL for fluoxetine and 0.12-25.03 ng/mL for olanzapine in human plasma. The intra-batch and inter-batch precision (%CV) across four quality control levels was ≤ 6.28% for both the analytes. In conclusion, a simple and sensitive analytical method was developed and validated in human plasma. This method is suitable for measuring accurate plasma concentration in bioequivalence study and therapeutic drug monitoring as well, following combined administration.