Prednisolone, a cortisol analogue, was given intraperitoneally to rats with 5, 10 or 15 doses of 5 mg. per kg. of body weight per day. Sacrificing the animals 24 hours after the last injection, unfixed frozen sections from small pieces of liver tissue were incubated and stained by a modification from the method of Wachstein and Meisel(1965) for glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) activity. Some of the tissue blocks were processed for staining with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological observation. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity, being represented histochemically by brownish-black deposits, was progressively increased after administrations 5 or 10 times. With 15 doses of prednisolone the general histochemical picture of G-6-Pase activity appeared to be similar to that of the control group, except for a different distribution of hepatocytes possessing strong activity. In prednisolone treated rats, the swollen hepatocytes showed a marked, cytoplasmic vacuolization and nuclear pyknosis, particularly in the periportal and midzonal areas of hepatic lobules. Some discussion of the G-6-Pase corticosteroids are presented in terms of their metabolic effects.
Animal ; Glucose-6-Phosphatase/analysis* ; Liver/drug effects ; Liver/enzymology* ; Male ; Prednisolone/pharmacology* ; Rats

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) with topical steroid in conjunctival inflammation, wound healing, and intraocular pressure when used after strabismus surgery. METHODS: Twenty five patients who received bilateral horizontal rectus muscle recession were selected. 0.1% prednisolone acetate (Optilon(R), Chongkundang Pharma Corporation) was applied to the right eye of each patient and 0.1% pranoprofen (Pranopulon(R), Choongwae Pharmacology Corporation) was applied to the left eye four times a day after surgery. Both eyes were compared at one day, 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after surgery to measure the extent of inflammation (injection, chemosis, discharge), pain and conjunctival incisional healing. The intraocular pressure was compared at the day before surgery and 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: The steroid group showed earlier improvement of inflammation and pain and faster conjunctival incisional healing than the NSAID group (p>0.1). The steroid group showed a significantly higher IOP than the NSAIDs group throughout the periods (p<0.001), and showed a progressive increasement in IOP during the study periods (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Topical NSAIDs were proved to be as effective as topical steroids in controlling inflammation and pain, and in the healing of conjunctival wounds. In addition, topical NSAIDs showed no side effect of increasing IOP. Therefore, topical NSAIDs may be a safe alternative to topical steroids after strabismus surgery in children who have difficulty in measuring IOP.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Child ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intraocular Pressure ; Pharmacology ; Prednisolone ; Steroids* ; Strabismus* ; Wound Healing ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: The administration of high doses of glucocorticoids can produce significant side effects including skeletal muscle atrophy, weakness and aberrant pharmacology. However, available reports have yielded conflicting results ranging from facilitatory to no change to inhibitory action of glucocoticoids on neuromuscular transmission. Also, the mechanisms for such changes are not known. Therefore, this study investigated the changes in muscle contractility and pharmacology after prednisolone administration in vivo. METHODS: With institutional approval, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to 3 treatment groups, namely prednisolone (10 mg/kg daily for 7 days), saline control (equal volume of saline daily for 7 days) and an age-matched food-restriction group which grew at the same rate as the prednisolone group. On day 8 the rats were anesthetized, mechanically ventilated and the twitch response of the tibialis muscle to supramaximal stimulation of the sciatic nerve at 2 Hz for 2 sec every 12 sec, or at 50 or 100 Hz tetanus for 5 sec were monitored. The peak twitch and tetanic tensions were measured and tetanic fade was calculated. The cumulative dose-response curves of d-tubocurarine (d-TC) in the tibialis muscles were determined. The tibialis muscle weight relative to body weight was measured (muscle index), and the tension per unit muscle mass (i.e., specific tension) was calculated. The control and treatment groups were compared by a one way ANOVA test and P>0.05 was regarded as significant. RESULTS: Prednisolone caused a decline in growth rate and the ED50 of dTC relative to saline. Food-restriction caused a decline in growth rate and an increase in muscle index relative to saline, and a decline in tension relative to prednisolone. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that prednisolone can alter the sensitivity of skeletal muscles to dTC even without or before changes in neuromuscular contractility become apparent. Therefore, titration of doses of nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents may be indicated in patients receiving glucocorticoid therapy.
Animals ; Atrophy ; Body Weight ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Muscles ; Neuromuscular Agents* ; Neuromuscular Blocking Agents ; Pharmacology ; Prednisolone ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Refractory Period, Electrophysiological ; Sciatic Nerve ; Tetanus ; Tubocurarine

Dexamethasone ; therapeutic use ; Glucocorticoids ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Meconium Aspiration Syndrome ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Methylprednisolone ; therapeutic use ; Prednisolone ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVE: To explore and analyze the the expression change of miRNA associated with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) treated by the Salvia combined with law-dose prednisolone. METHODS: Ten pairs of tissues from patients with typical early or advanced stage clinical pathological features of OSF and their paired normal tissues (internal control), were selected respectively. The miRNA expression profiles between the OSF and its paired controls were compared by the Affymetrix analysis. The primary normal oral mucous cells were cultured in arecoline (50 μg/mL) for 3, 6, 12 d (0 d ser ved as cont rol), and the primary OSF-fibroblast cells were cultured with Salvia (90 mg/mL) combined with low-dose prednisolone for 12, 24, 36 h (0 h served as control). The differential expression of miRNA was detected. RESULTS: Arecoline induced the expression changes of miRNAs in normal mucosal cells. Salvia combined with low doses of prednisolone reversed the related miRNA expression. CONCLUSION MiRNAs play an essential role in the occurrence and development of OSF. Salvia combined with low-dose prednisolone can reverse the expression of related miRNAs in OSF cells.
Arecoline ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Mouth Mucosa ; cytology ; drug effects ; Oral Submucous Fibrosis ; metabolism ; Prednisolone ; pharmacology ; Salvia ; chemistry ; Transcriptome

The effects of anti-allergic drugs on intestinal mastocytosis and the expulsion of Neodiplostomum seoulense were observed in Sprague-Dawley rats, after oral infection with 500 metacercariae. The drugs used were hydroxyzine (a histamine receptor H1 blocker), cimetidine (a H2 blocker), cyclosporin-A (a helper T-cell suppressant), and prednisolone (a T- and B-cell suppressant). Infected, but untreated controls, and uninfected controls, were prepared. Worm recovery rate and intestinal mastocytosis were measured on weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 post-infection. Compared with the infected controls, worm expulsion was significantly (P < 0.05) delayed in hydroxyzine- and cimetidine-treated rats, despite mastocytosis being equally marked in the duodenum of all three groups. In the cyclosporin-A- and prednisolone-treated groups, mastocytosis was suppressed, but worm expulsion was only slightly delayed, without statistical significance. Our results suggest that binding of histamine to its receptors on intestinal smooth muscles is more important in terms of the expulsion of N. seoulense from rats than the levels of histamine alone, or mastocytosis.
Animals ; Cimetidine/pharmacology ; Cyclosporine/pharmacology ; Histamine H1 Antagonists/*pharmacology ; Histamine H2 Antagonists/*pharmacology ; Hydroxyzine/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Immunosuppressive Agents/*pharmacology ; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/*drug therapy ; Mastocytosis/*drug therapy/parasitology ; Prednisolone/*pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Trematoda/*growth & development/metabolism ; Trematode Infections/*drug therapy

Immune complex deposits have been found in the choroid plexus in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and it can be assumed that an immune complex injury to the choroid plexus might be related to the neuropsychiatric disorder seen in patients with SLE. Acute serum sickness was experimentally induced in rabbits by intravenous injection of crystalized BSA. Prednisolone in conventionl dosage was administered to study the immunologic injury of the choroid plexus as well as the mechanisms involved in the prednisolone effect. Light, electron microscopic and immunofluorescent studies were made. The host immunoglobulins(IgG, IgA, IgM) and beta 1 C globulin were demonstrated in the choroid plexus. Histopathological findings included mild to moderate interstitial and perivascular lymphocyte and plasma cell infiltrations and edema. Control animals showed no immune deposits and no histopathologic changes. Electron microscopic findings comparing the immunofluorescent and histopathologic changes were minimal, and showed sparse, vague electron dense deposits particularly in the interstitial spaces, knob-like focal thickening of vascular basement membrane, swelling of endothelial cells, and some accentuation of interstitial cells. The morphologic and functional similarities of the choroid plexus and glomerular basement membrane, the findings in morphologic, electron microscopic and immunofluorescent examinations of the experimental rabbits, along with the observed effects of prednisolone, together with similar reports in the recent literature suggest that immunologic injury of the choroid plexus could be considered as a new disease entity. This immunologic injury might play a significant role in neuropsychiatric disorders in the long standing immune complex deposit diseases. The very interesting finding is the nature and function of the interstitial cell between the endothelial (vascular) and epithelial side basement membranes, and speculation as to whether or not the role of this interstitial cell in choroid plexus injury may be in its possible analogy with glomerular mesangial cells.
Acute Disease ; Animal ; Choroid Plexus/drug effects ; Choroid Plexus/immunology* ; Choroid Plexus/pathology ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/etiology ; Prednisolone/pharmacology* ; Rabbits ; Serum Sickness/chemically induced ; Serum Sickness/complications* ; Serum Sickness/immunology

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of Angelica sinensis Polysaccharides (ASP) on the hepatic drug metabolism enzymes activities in normal mice and those prednisolone (PSL)-induced liver injury.

METHODThe activities of phase II enzymes (GSH-related enzymes) and cytochrome P450 enzymes were measured by biochemical method.

RESULTASP increased the activities of glutathione S-transferase in liver microsomes and mitochondria. The cytochrome P450 content, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, aminopyrine N-demethylase, and aniline hydroxylase activities in liver microsomes were also increased. PSL significantly increased serum ALT levels, and decreased the liver mitochondrial glutathione content. At the same time, other enzymes activities were all increased. When mice were treated with ASP 2.0 g.kg-1, the PSL-induced changes on cytochrome P450 enzymes, glutathione S-transferase, and GSH content were restored.

CONCLUSIONASP can modulate the activities of drug metabolism enzymes.

Aminopyrine N-Demethylase ; metabolism ; Angelica sinensis ; chemistry ; Aniline Hydroxylase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; enzymology ; etiology ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; metabolism ; Glutathione Transferase ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Microsomes, Liver ; enzymology ; Mitochondria, Liver ; enzymology ; NADPH-Ferrihemoprotein Reductase ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Prednisolone