EFFECT OF CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH SOME DRUGS ON THE ENZYMATIC-ACTIVITIES OF THE RAT-BRAIN

In untreated and treated rats, age-dependent changes of some cerebral enzymatic activities (lactate dehydrogenase; citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase; total NADH-cytocrome c reductase and cytochrome oxidase) were studied in the homogenate in toto and in the crude mitochondrial fraction of the brain from the 16th to the 28th week of age, at 4-week intervals. All the activities studied exhibited a natural peak around the 20th week of life, and subsequently they decreased to lower values. The tested drugs (medibazine. trimetazidine, (-)eburnamonine, papaverine, suloctidil, bamethan, inositol niacinate, and UDP-glucose) were administered daily for periods of 4, 8 or 12 weeks each (16-20, 16-24. 16-28 or 24-28 weeks of life) by intraperitoneal route and at one dose level (1 or 5 mg/kg). The drugs tested exerted different effects in the various administration periods, thus enabling us to differentiate drug action on some important cerebral enzymatic activities after chronic treatment. © 1979.