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CRITICAL CARE AND TRAUMA

Clonidine Pretreatment Inhibits Stress-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats

Birgul Yelken, MD^*, Todd Dorman, MD^§, Serdar Erkasap, MD, Emine Dundar, MD, and Belkis Tanriverdi, MD^*

Departments of *Anesthesiology, Surgery, and Pathology, Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey; and §Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Birgul Buyukkidan Yelken, Osmangazi University, Medical Faculty, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Med, Eskisehir, Turkey. Address e-mail to bbyelken{at}ogu.edu.tr

We studied the effects of clonidine (0.5 mg/kg) on hormonal stress response and antioxidant enzymes cold restraint-induced gastric lesions in rats. Rats in the study group were given 0.5 mg/kg intraperitoneal clonidine (n = 12), whereas the control group received 0.5 mL/kg intraperitoneal isotonic sodium chloride solution (n = 9). Animals were then subjected to immobilization at 4°C in restraining devices for 4 h after a starvation period of 24 h. Gastric lesion index, gastric tissue malondialdehyde activity, and plasma cortisol concentrations were assayed. Histopathologic examination demonstrated a stress ulcer index of 3.17 ± 0.92 mm in the clonidine group and 14.0 ± 3.22 mm in the control group (P < 0.05). The tissue malondialdehyde concentrations were slightly higher in the control group than in the clonidine group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Plasma cortisol levels were lower in the clonidine group (P < 0.05). We concluded that clonidine attenuated the tissue damage and stress response in stress-induced gastric ulceration.

Implications: Stressful circumstances can cause stomach ulcers, which can bleed, exposing patients to potentially life-threatening complications. In the present animal study, we showed that clonidine, a routinely available medication, may be useful in preventing stress-induced stomach ulcers.

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