Methamphetamine and lipid peroxidation in the rat retina

✍ Scribed by Pedro Melo; Lorena G. Rodrigues; Maria Dolores Pinazo-Durán; Maria Amélia Tavares

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 142 KB
• Volume: 73
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1542-0752
• DOI: 10.1002/bdra.20138

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The use of psychoactive drugs during adolescence and early adult life has increased in the last few decades. It is known that developmental exposure to psychostimulants affects the sensory systems, and the retina has been shown to be a target tissue. This work was conducted to evaluate the pattern of lipid peroxidation in the rat retina following prenatal exposure to methamphetamine (MA).

METHODS

Pregnant female Wistar rats were given MA (5 mg/kg of body weight/day; SC, in 0.9% saline) from GD 8 to 22. Offspring were sacrificed at postnatal days (PNDs) 7, 14, and 21. The retinas were homogenized, and both the total antioxidant and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured by enzymatic‐colorimetric methods. The lipid peroxidation byproducts (malondialdehyde [MDA] and MDA‐like metabolites) were measured by the thiobarbituric acid test.

RESULTS

Total antioxidant levels were lower in the MA group at PND 21 in both males and females. The activity of SOD was higher in PND 7 females from the MA group. MDA levels were higher in the MA group at PND 21 in both genders.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that prenatal‐induced MA toxicity in the retina may be related to lipid peroxidation processes and oxidative stress. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.