Chronic lithium treatment has antioxidant properties but does not prevent oxidative damage induced by chronic variate stress.
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.
de Vasconcellos
Ana Paula Santana
AP
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. anavasco21@hotmail.com
Nieto
Fabiane Battistela
FB
Crema
Leonardo Machado
LM
Diehl
Luisa Amália
LA
de Almeida
Lúcia Maria
LM
Prediger
Martha Elisa
ME
da Rocha
Elizabete Rocha
ER
Dalmaz
Carla
C
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
D000975:Antioxidants; D018020:Lithium Compounds; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase