Oral Oxycodone Compared With Intravenous Morphine Sulfate for Pain Management of Isolated Limb Trauma; a Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Appropriate pain relief enhances patient satisfaction and reduces patient anxiety. This study aimed to compare oral oxycodone with intravenous (IV) morphine sulfate (MS) in pain management of acute limb trauma.Method: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, patients over 14 years old, with acute isolated limb trauma were randomized to receive either 5mg IV MS or 5 mg oral oxycodone. Pain intensity and adverse effects of medications were recorded 0, 30 and 60 minutes after drug administration and compared between the groups.Result: 58 patients were studied. Pain intensity was similar between the two studied groups at 30 minutes (P = 0.834) and 60 minutes (P = 0.880) after drug administration. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding decrease in pain within the defined time interval. Drowsiness was reported more frequently in MS group after 30 minutes (p = 0.006). Patients in MS group asked for more rescue analgesia. Other adverse effects were similar in both groups.Conclusion: Oral oxycodone is as effective as IV morphine sulfate in treatment of acute musculoskeletal pain following blunt limb trauma

Pain Relieving Effect of Sublingual Glycerol Trinitrate in Renal Colic: a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Introduction: Renal colic is caused by colicky spasms of ureters. As has been shown in previous experiments, glycerol trinitrate (TNG) can inhibit these muscular spasms. Objective: This study was performed to assess the pain relieving effect of TNG among patients referred due to renal colic pain to the emergency department (ED). Methods: This study is a randomized, placebo-controlled study on 60 patients with renal colic who were referred to the ED, who were diagnosed clinically to have renal colic, and their pain was more than 5 based on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The patient's pain was recorded at the moment of clinical diagnosis, and each one received one capsule, either 0.4 mg TNG or placebo, plus a 100 mg indomethacin suppository. The pain score was re-assessed after 5 and 30 min. The values were recorded and compared using SPSS-16 software. Results: Sixty patients with a mean age of 35.75 ± 11.99 years were enrolled (73.3% male). Patients in the two groups were matched for age (p = 0.290), sex (p = 0.559), and the presence of microscopic hematuria (p = 0.292). Pain relief from the start point until the end of the intervention was statistical different in all studied patients (p < 0.05); but the comparison between the two groups showed no significant difference in this regard (p = 0.440). Conclusion: It is likely that adding TNG to an indomethacin suppository had no significant effects on better pain management of patients referred with renal colic to the ED

Tropisetron attenuated the anxiogenic effects of social isolation by modulating nitrergic system and mitochondrial function.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Early social isolation stress (SIS) is associated with the occurrence of anxiety behaviors. It seems interaction between the nitrergic system and mitochondrial function plays a role in mediating the anxiety-like behaviors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anxiolytic effects of tropisetron in animal model of SIS and we try to illustrate the possible role of nitrergic system and mitochondrial function. METHODS: We applied early social isolation paradigm to male NMRI mice. Animals treated with various doses of tropisetron, nitric oxide agents or their combination and anxiety-like behaviors of animals were assessed using valid behavioral tests including elevated plus maze (EPM), open-field test (OFT) and hole-board test (HBT) in their adulthood. Effects of housing conditions and drug treatments on the mitochondrial function were investigated in the hippocampus by assessing the ATP, GSH, ROS and nitrite levels. RESULTS: Anxiogenic effects of early SIS were assessed in the EPM, OFT, and HBT. Also, SIS disrupted mitochondrial function and caused oxidative stress in the hippocampus of stressed animals. Tropisetron showed an anxiolytic effect in the stressed mice. Also, these effects were mediated by nitrergic system by affecting mitochondrial function and modulating the oxidative stress. L-arginine, a nitric oxide precursor, abolished the anxiolytic effects of tropisetron in the behavioral tasks and blocked the protective effects of it against mitochondrial and oxidative challenge. CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrated tropisetron attenuated the anxiogenic effects of SIS by mitigation of the negative effects of nitric oxide on mitochondrial functio

The protective effect of nano-curcumin in experimental model of acute pancreatitis: The involvement of TLR4/NF-kB pathway

Objective(s): The objective of the present study is to explore whether Nanocurcumin improves pancreatic inflammation through the inhibition of the TLR4/NFkB signaling pathway in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. Methods: Acute pancreatitis was induced by five intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of cerulein (50 μg/kg) with 1h intervals. Vehicle and nanocurcumin (100mg/kg/day) were given to the animals by oral gavage six days before the induction of pancreatitis. The last dose was administered 1 hour before pancreatitis induction. The serum level of amylase and lipase and the tissue level of MPO enzymes were assessed by biochemical analysis. Microscopic lesions were examined. In addition, the expression level of TLR4, NF-kB p65 and TNF-α proteins were measured by western blotting analysis. Results: Nanocurcumin reduced the microscopic lesions. In addition, the drug decreased the level of amylase, lipase and MPO enzymes. Furthermore, nanocurcumin inhibited the cerulein-induced expression of TLR4, NF-kB p65 and TNF-α proteins.   Conclusion: It is suggested that the anti-inflammatory effect of nanocurcumin on cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis may involve the inhibition of the TLR4/NFkB signaling pathway

Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Stachys lavandulifolia on Pentylenetetrazole-induced Seizures in Male Mice: The Role of GABAergic and Opioidergic Systems

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. Though there are several effective drugs for treating epilepsy, most drugs are associated with side effects and drug interactions. Stachys lavandulifolia used in Iranian traditional medicine has proven anti-anxiety and sedative properties. The current study aimed to evaluate the anticonvulsant effect of hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifoliaon the Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure in male mice and the role of benzodiazepine and opioid receptors.  Methods: This study was conducted on 100 male mice, randomly categorized into 10 groups: Normal Saline (NS), two diazepam groups (0.025 and 0.1 mg/kg), three S. lavandulifolia extract groups (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg), diazepam 0.025 mg/kg+S. lavandulifolia extract 50 mg/kg, and three groups that pretreated with NS, flumazenil, or naloxone, 5 min before injection of 200 mg/kg S. lavandulifolia extract. After 30 min, PTZ (80 mg/kg) was injected into animals, and seizure indices were evaluated.  Results: The S. lavandulifoliaextract attenuated the PTZ-induced seizures in a dose-dependent manner, and pretreatment with flumazenil reversed this effect. However, pretreatment with naloxone could not reverse this effect because seizure indices in the naloxone pretreated group were lower than that in the normal saline group. The combination of an ineffective dose of diazepam and S. lavandulifoliaextract decreased PTZ-induced seizures.  Conclusion: The results of our study showed the anticonvulsant properties of hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifolia. These effects might be due to the impact of the components of this extract on the central benzodiazepine system

The Analgesic Effect of Salvia reuterana: The Analgesic Effect of Salvia reuterana

Salvia reuterana, commonly known as Maryam Goli Esfahani, is a member of the Labiateae family. In Iranian folk medicine, aerial parts of S. reuterana have been used as sedative and anxiety. Evaluation of various extracts of the plant for their analgesic activity revealed that treatment of mice with n-hexane extract (500 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly increased the latency time as compared to the control group. Fractionation of the hexane extract of S. reuterana led to the isolation of sclareol as the main compound (0.19% w/w). Column chromatography was used to isolation of compounds from S. reuterana and a spectroscopic method including NMR was used to identification of the isolated compound. Evaluation of the analgesic effect of sclareol using a hot plate, tail-flick, and formalin tests in mice confirmed the potent analgesic effect of sclareol as an effective compound of S. reuterana. These results showed that the n-hexane extract of aerial parts of S. reuterana and its main constituent sclareol showed significant analgesic activity in different rodent nociceptive behavioral tests

The effect of spinally administered WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid agonist, on thermal pain sensitivity in diabetic rats

Objective(s):Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common complication of diabetes that leads to allodynia, impaired nerve conduction, and progressive sensory loss. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of a high-affinity cannabinoid receptors agonist, WIN 55,212-2, on thermal hyperalgesia, nerve conduction velocity and sciatic nerve histopathology in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Diabetes was induced in rats using a single dose of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg IP). Results: Intrathecal (IT) administration of WIN55, 212-2 (1, 10, 100 µg/10 µl, IT), produced antinociceptive effects in the hot plate test and also improved nerve conduction velocity (100 µg/10 µl, IT) and sciatic nerve histology. Conclusion: These data show that cannabinoids have potent antinociceptive effects through direct actions in the spinal dorsal horn of nociceptive pathway. This suggests that intrathecally administered cannabinoids may offer hopeful strategies for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain

Effect of atorvastatin on orthodontic tooth movement in male wistar rats.

Statins are used as cholesterol-lowering drugs by many patients and have been recently shown to affect bone metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of atorvastatinon on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in rats.Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups of 12 samples each. Group A, served as control with no medication while groups B and C received a daily gavage of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as vehicle and atorvastatin (5 mg/kg) as test substance, respectively. In all three groups, 6mm nickel-titanium closed-coil springs were ligated between the maxillary incisors and first left molars to deliver an initial force of 60g. Tooth movement was measured following sacrifice, 21 days after appliance insertion. Root resorption, PDL width and osteoclast number were histologically evaluated and compared between the groups.The mean amount of tooth movement was 0.62 mm in group A, 0.59 mm in group B and 0.38 mm in group C. OTM reduction following administration of atorvastatin was statistically significant (p0.05).According to the results obtained in the current study, atorvastatin appears to reduce tooth movement in rats; however its effect on osteoclasts, especially osteoclastic function, requires further investigation

Effect of Fluoxetine Consumption on Orthodontic Tooth Movement in Rats

Objectives: Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) widely used for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of fluoxetine on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups namely the control group (no medication), saline and fluoxetine dissolved in saline. In all groups, nickel titanium closed-coil spring was used between the left maxillary central incisor and first molar to exert 60g force at 2mm activation. Radiographs were taken at one and 21 days. After 21 days, the rats were sacrificed. The distance between the first and second molar teeth, optical density of bone, periodontal ligament (PDL) width, lacuna length and depth and number of osteoclasts were measured and compared among the groups. Results: Tooth movement significantly increased in the fluoxetine group (P=0.005). No significant differences were found in osteoclast count (P=0.069). The PDL width in the mesioapical region of root was significantly different among the groups (P=0.015). Statistical analysis did not show significant differences in depth or length of lacunae in any examined part of the root (P>0.05). Bone densitometry results showed that in fluoxetine group, density of bone in all four areas (alveolar bone, hard palate, skull and mandibular bone) significantly decreased from day one to day 21 (P< 0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that fluoxetine decreased bone density, which resulted in subsequently greater tooth movement in rats; however, further studies are needed on humans