title: Urinary biopyrrins: potential biomarker for monitoring of the response to treatment with anxiolytics.
abstract: During periods of psychological stress, excess amounts of free radicals are produced. Bilirubin oxidative metabolites (biopyrrins; BOM) are generated from bilirubin as a result of its scavenging action against free radicals. We investigated whether the urinary excretion of biopyrrins is altered by anxiolytics. In the present study, mice were immobilized for a period of 6 hr. Alprazolam (0.1-1 mg/kg of body-weight) was administered 30 min. before subjecting the animals to acute stress. The BOM concentrations in urine and the corticosterone levels in serum were measured by ELISA with an anti-bilirubin antibody and EIA, respectively. We observed an increase in urinary biopyrrins in stressed mice in comparison with non-stressed mice and a decrease after the treatment of stressed animals with alprazolam. A correlation between urinary BOM and serum corticosterone levels was found. Urinary levels of biopyrrins might be used to assess the response to anxiolytics prescribed during acute stress periods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Medicine and Nursing, University of Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novío
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.forename: Carmen María
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ponte
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freire-Garabal
mesh_terms: D000525:Alprazolam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D001663:Bilirubin; D003345:Corticosterone; D000525:Alprazolam