الفهرس 
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Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) driven through altered immune responses with production of proinflammatory cytokines. Many therapies are used, but side effects and loss of response limit long-term effectiveness. New therapeutic strategies are thus needed for patients who don’t respond to current treatments. Recently, there is suggested involvement of the proinflammatory hormone angiotensin II in inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of olmesartan medoxomil (OLM-M), an
angiotensin II receptor blocker in ameliorating ulcerative colitis. Colitis was induced in male Wistar rats by administration of 5% dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) in drinking water for 5 days. OLM-M (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) was administered orally during 21 days prior to the induction of colitis, and for 5 days after. Sulfasalazine (500
mg/kg) was used as reference drug. All animals were tested for changes in colon length, disease activity index (DAI) and microscopic damage. Colon tissue concentration/activity of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), myeloperoxidase (MPO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE), reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdhyde (MDA) were assessed. Results showed that the OLM-M dose-dependently ameliorated the colonic histopathological and biochemical injuries, an effect that is
comparable or even better than that of the standard sulfasalazine. These results
suggest that olmesartan medoximil may be effective in the treatment of UC through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.