Mania is a psychiatric disorder which may occur alternately with depression as a bipolar disorder, or much less often as an individual disease. It might be accompanied by other disorders, i.e. schizophrenia, dementia or withdrawal syndrome. Only a few effective drugs are used for the treatment of mania. Patients suffering from bipolar disorder are treated with mood-stabilizing drugs, administered during the course of the disease, and drugs that are implemented when mania or depression episodes occur. Some studies report effectiveness of anticonvulsant drugs in the cessation of mania, thus in our study we assessed the effectiveness of pregabalin in a mouse model of mania induced by administration of metylphenidate (5 mg/kg; s.c). Pregabalin was tested in the forced swim test (75 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg; i.p.) and the elevated plus maze test (75 mg/kg; i.p.) to assess its antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like properties, respectively. In the elevated plus maze in MPH-treated mice pregabalin significantly reduced time spent in open arms (p<0.001 vs. MPH-treated control). In the forced swim test MPH compared to vehicle significantly (p<0.001) reduced duration of immobility. In MPH-treated mice pregabalin partially reversed this effect of MPH. This effect was significant only for the dose of 75 mg/ kg (p<0.05). In the rotarod test neither MPH, nor its combination with pregabalin (75 mg/kg; 100 mg/kg) influenced motor coordination of mice at any speed tested. To conclude our study revealed that pregabalin might reverse manic-like action of MPH related to hyperlocomotion, which may indicate for its possible effectiveness in mania episodes.
Chronic inflammation is characterized by excessive production of cytokines and eicosanoids and is associated with unsufficient resolution. Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids may result in a lower incidence of many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of α – linolenic acid (ALA) on the fatty acids profile of cell membranes and on the pro-inflammatory proteins cyclooxygenase – 2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E2 synthase (cPGES) and prostaglandin F2α receptor (FP) expression in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages, activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It has been shown that COX-2, cPGES as well as FP receptor expression was highest in cells activated by LPS. In macrophages supplemented with ALA and activated with LPS a pro-inflammatory protein levels were significantly reduced, suggesting anti-inflammatory activity of α-linolenic acid. There were also statistically significant changes in the fatty acid profile after incubation of the RAW 264.7 cells for 48 hours with ALA. A deficiency or excess of specific fatty acids affect the cellular membrane fluidity, can also cause changes in cell morphology. Therefore it is appropriate to carry out further research on the ALA properties.
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