title: The histopathological comparison of L-carnitine with amifostine for protective efficacy on radiation-induced acute small intestinal toxicity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to compare the protective efficacy of l-carnitine (LC) to amifostine on radiation-induced acute small intestine damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty, 4-week-old Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to four groups - Group 1: control (CONT, n = 6), Group 2: irradiation alone (RT, n = 8), Group 3: amifostine plus irradiation (AMI+RT, n = 8), and Group 4: l-Carnitine plus irradiation (LC+RT, n = 8). The rats in all groups were irradiated individually with a single dose of 20 Gy to the total abdomen, except those in CONT. LC (300 mg/kg) or amifostine (200 mg/kg) was used 30 min before irradiation. Histopathological analysis of small intestine was carried out after euthanasia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pretreatment with amifostine reduced the radiation-induced acute degenerative damage (P = 0.009) compared to the RT group. Pretreatment with LC did not obtain any significant difference compared to the RT group. The vascular damage significantly reduced in both of the AMI+RT (P = 0.003) and LC+RT group (P = 0.029) compared to the RT group. The overall damage score was significantly lower in the AMI+RT group than the RT group (P = 0.009). There was not any significant difference between the LC+RT and RT group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Amifostine has a marked radioprotective effect against all histopathological changes on small intestinal tissue while LC has limited effects which are mainly on vascular structure.
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. caloglumurat@hotmail.com
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Caloglu
authors: Vuslat Yurut
authors: VY
authors: Caloglu
authors: Tulin
authors: T
authors: Yalta
authors: Omer
authors: O
authors: Yalcin
authors: Cem
authors: C
authors: Uzal
mesh_terms: D004999:Amifostine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; D004999:Amifostine; D002331:Carnitine