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A comparative study of pentoxifylline effects in adult and aged rats submitted to lung dysfunction by thermal injury
Bianca Trovello Ramallo1, Elizete Lourenço, Renata Harumi Cruz
1Department of Surgery, UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Purpose:
To investigate the protective effects of pentoxifylline against lung injury observed after dorsal scald in aged animals.
Methods:
Adult (eight months old) and aged (20 months old) rats were subjected to thermal injury or sham procedure. The six hours post-trauma animals received pentoxifylline and after 24 hours were euthanatized and lung tissue samples collected. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was evaluated for total protein content and tumor necrosis factor-alpha cytokine. Malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase activity in the lung homogenate were measured and a histological lung examination was undertaken.
Results:
Burn injury induced oxidative stress in lung homogenate was higher in elderly-burned rats compared to adult-burned rats (p<0.001). Total protein and cytokine in bronchoalveolar lavage increased in the elderly-burned group when compared to the adult-burned group (p<0.001). All parameters decreased in both groups treated with pentoxifylline (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
The injury was augmented in elderly rats when compared to adult rats. Damage was reduced with the use of pentoxifylline, however further studies are needed to evaluate the dose-response of the drug.