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Chronic Lithium Treatment has Antioxidant Properties but does not Prevent Oxidative Damage Induced by Chronic Variate Stress

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Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of chronic stress and lithium treatments on oxidative stress parameters in hippocampus, hypothalamus, and frontal cortex. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: control and submitted to chronic variate stress, and subdivided into treated or not with LiCl. After 40 days, rats were killed, and lipoperoxidation, production free radicals, total antioxidant reactivity (TAR) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were evaluated. The results showed that stress increased lipoperoxidation and that lithium decreased free radicals production in hippocampus; both treatments increased TAR. In hypothalamus, lithium increased TAR and no effect was observed in the frontal cortex. Stress increased SOD activity in hippocampus; while lithium increased GPx in hippocampus and SOD in hypothalamus. We concluded that lithium presented antioxidant properties, but is not able to prevent oxidative damage induced by chronic variate stress.

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Acknowledgment

Supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Ana Paula Santana de Vasconcellos, Leonardo Machado Crema, Elizabete Rocha da Rocha & Carla Dalmaz

  2. Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, UFRGS, Ramiro Barcelos, 2600 (Anexo) Lab. 32, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-003, Brazil

    Ana Paula Santana de Vasconcellos, Fabiane Battistela Nieto, Luisa Amália Diehl, Lúcia Maria de Almeida, Martha Elisa Prediger, Elizabete Rocha da Rocha & Carla Dalmaz

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  1. Ana Paula Santana de Vasconcellos
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  2. Fabiane Battistela Nieto
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Correspondence to Ana Paula Santana de Vasconcellos.

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de Vasconcellos, A.P.S., Nieto, F.B., Crema, L.M. et al. Chronic Lithium Treatment has Antioxidant Properties but does not Prevent Oxidative Damage Induced by Chronic Variate Stress. Neurochem Res 31, 1141–1151 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-006-9139-2

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