The effect of propranolol phentolamine and pimozide on drug-induced anorexia in the mouse

Anorectic interaction and safety of 5-hydroxytryptophan/carbidopa plus phentermine or diethylpropion in rat

Drug combinations are being studied as potential therapies to increase the efficacy or improve the safety profile of weight loss medications. This study was designed to determine the anorectic interaction and safety profile of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)/carbidopa + diethylpropion and 5-HTP/carbidopa + phentermine combinations in rats. The anorectic effect of individual drugs or in combination was evaluated by the sweetened milk test. Isobologram and interaction index were employed to determine the anorectic interaction between 5-HTP/carbidopa and diethylpropion or phentermine. Plasma serotonin (5-HT) was measured by ELISA. Safety of repeated doses of both combinations in rats was evaluated using the tail sphygmomanometer, cardiac ultrasound, hematic biometry and blood chemistry. A single oral 5-HTP, diethylpropion or phentermine dose increased the anorectic effect, in a dose-dependent fashion, in 12 h-fasted rats. A dose of carbidopa at 30 mg/kg reduced the 5-HTP-induced plasmatic serotonin concentration and augmented the 5-HTP-induced anorectic effect. Isobologram and interaction index indicated a potentiation interaction between 5-HTP/30 mg/kg carbidopa + diethylpropion and 5-HTP/30 mg/kg carbidopa + phentermine. Chronic administration of experimental ED40 of 5-HTP/30 mg/kg carbidopa + phentermine, but not 5-HTP/30 mg/kg carbidopa + diethylpropion, increased the mitral valve leaflets area. Moreover, there were no other significant changes in cardiovascular, hematic or blood parameters. Both combinations induced around 20% body weight loss after 3 months of oral administration. Results suggest that 5-HTP/30 mg/kg carbidopa potentiates the anorectic effect of diethylpropion and phentermine with an acceptable safety profile, but further clinical studies are necessary to establish their therapeutic potential in the obesity treatment.

Drugs Involved in Dyslipidemia and Obesity Treatment: Focus on Adipose Tissue

Metabolic syndrome can be defined as a state of disturbed metabolic homeostasis characterized by visceral obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, and insulin resistance. The growing prevalence of metabolic syndrome will certainly contribute to the burden of cardiovascular disease. Obesity and dyslipidemia are main features of metabolic syndrome, and both can present with adipose tissue dysfunction, involved in the pathogenic mechanisms underlying this syndrome. We revised the effects, and underlying mechanisms, of the current approved drugs for dyslipidemia and obesity (fibrates, statins, niacin, resins, ezetimibe, and orlistat; sibutramine; and diethylpropion, phentermine/topiramate, bupropion and naltrexone, and liraglutide) on adipose tissue. Specifically, we explored how these drugs can modulate the complex pathways involved in metabolism, inflammation, atherogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and adipogenesis. The clinical outcomes of adipose tissue modulation by these drugs, as well as differences of major importance for clinical practice between drugs of the same class, were identified. Whether solutions to these issues will be found in further adjustments and combinations between drugs already in use or necessarily in new advances in pharmacology is not known. To better understand the effect of drugs used in dyslipidemia and obesity on adipose tissue not only is challenging for physicians but could also be the next step to tackle cardiovascular disease.

Systemic mazindol reduces food intake in rats via suppression of meal size and meal number

The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of the appetite suppressant mazindol on meal pattern in rats. Meal patterns were monitored in adult male rats after mazindol dosing during the first three hours of the dark cycle using automated feeding chambers (BioDAQ). Mazindol (0, 0.25, 1.25 and 2.5 mg/kg, IP) produced a dose-dependent hypophagia and hypodipsia. Meal size and meal number were significantly suppressed by mazindol. The meal pattern findings indicate that mazindol inhibits eating in the rat via a suppression of both meal size and meal number.

Dysregulation of striatal dopamine signaling by amphetamine inhibits feeding by hungry mice

Amphetamine (AMPH) releases monoamines, transiently stimulates locomotion, and inhibits feeding. Using a genetic approach, we show that mice lacking dopamine (DA-deficient, or DD, mice) are resistant to the hypophagic effects of a moderate dose of AMPH (2 microg/g) but manifest normal AMPH-induced hypophagia after restoration of DA signaling in the caudate putamen by viral gene therapy. By contrast, AMPH-induced hypophagia in response to the same dose of AMPH is not blunted in mice lacking the ability to make norepinephrine and epinephrine (Dbh(-/-)), dopamine D(2) receptors (D2r(-/-)), dopamine D(1) receptors (D1r(-/-)), serotonin 2C receptors (Htr2c(-/Y)), neuropeptide Y (Npy(-/-)), and in mice with compromised melanocortin signaling (A(y)). We suggest that, at this moderate dose of AMPH, dysregulation of striatal DA is the primary cause of AMPH-induced hypophagia and that regulated striatal dopaminergic signaling may be necessary for normal feeding behaviors.

Effects of fenfluramine and phentermine (fen-phen) on dopamine and serotonin release in rat striatum: in vivo microdialysis study in conscious animals

We measured the effects of acute or chronic administration of fenfluramine and phentermine, alone or in combination, on brain dopamine and serotonin release into striatal dialysates of freely moving rats. Samples collected every 30 min were assayed in a single run by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Acute or chronic administration of fenfluramine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) did not significantly change dopamine concentrations in rat striatal dialysates, but increased those of serotonin by 182% (acute) and 124% (chronic). Phentermine (2 mg/kg, i.p.), on the other hand, significantly increased dopamine concentrations by 52% (acute) and 80% (chronic) without affecting those of serotonin. Administration of the drugs in combination (fenfluramine 1 mg/kg and phentermine 2 mg/kg) amplified the effects of each, increasing striatal dopamine concentrations by 209% (acute) and serotonin concentrations by 330% (acute) and 299% (chronic).

Sucrose sham-feeding in the rat after administration of the selective dopamine D2 receptor agonist N-0437, d-amphetamine or cocaine

Drugs which act as agonists at dopamine receptors, or which increase dopamine release (e.g., d-amphetamine, cocaine) are known to reduce food intake. The present experiments investigated, for the first time, the effects of a highly selective dopamine D2 receptor agonist, N-0437 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg, IP), on 5% sucrose sham-feeding in gastric fistulated rats, and compared these results with those of d-amphetamine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg, IP) and cocaine (3.0-10.0 mg/kg, IP). The results showed that sucrose sham-feeding was resistant to the effects of N-0437, even though the D2 agonist dose-relatedly reduced sucrose real-feeding in intact animals. The two psychomotor stimulants, d-amphetamine and cocaine, produced some reductions in sham-feeding, although in the case of the highest dose of d-amphetamine, the pronounced reduction in the consumption of sucrose was probably secondary to induced behavioral stereotypy. The results suggest that D2 receptor stimulation may interact with satiety cues to reduce ingestion of sucrose, but that in the absence of potent satiety stimuli D2 receptor stimulation is ineffective. Furthermore, N-0437 appeared not to be equivalent to either d-amphetamine or cocaine in their effects to reduce sucrose sham-feeding.

Profile of the selective dopamine D-2 receptor agonist N-0437: its effects on palatability- and deprivation-induced feeding, and operant responding for food

N-0437 is a potent and highly selective dopamine D-2 receptor agonist, which has been used in the present series of experiments to investigate its potential anorectic properties. In doses of 0.3-3.0 mg/kg (IP), N-0437 significantly reduced consumption of a sweetened palatable mash in nondeprived mice (minimal effective dose, 0.3 mg/kg) and rats (minimal effective dose, 0.56 mg/kg). Reduction in food intake were also produced in rats by the less potent, but selective, D-2 agonist RU 24213 (effective at 10.0 mg/kg), and by d-amphetamine (1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg). The anorectic effect of N-0437 (1.0 mg/kg) was completely antagonized by the selective D-2 antagonist, YM-09151-2 (0.01 mg/kg). Over a series of 10 injections, N-0437 (1.0 mg/kg) maintained its effect to reduce palatable food intake. In food-deprived rats, N-0437 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg, IP) also reduced consumption of standard laboratory food, and dose-dependently reduced operant responding for food under a FR8 schedule of reinforcement. The results of the experiments are discussed in terms of a possible direct effect to reduce feeding responses resulting from stimulation of postsynaptic dopamine D-2 receptors.

Receptor blocking drugs and amphetamine anorexia in human subjects

The interaction between the receptor antagonist thymoxamine (THYM), propranolol (PPL) and metergoline (MTG) with dexamphetamine (d-Amp)-induced anorexia was examined in a series of studies in normal female volunteers. Visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings of hunger were made and food intake was measured using an automated solid food dispenser (AFD). d-Amp (10 mg) significantly depressed hunger ratings compared to placebo in two of the three studies and its effect was countered by the addition of MTG (4 mg). d-Amp significantly reduced food intake compared to placebo in two studies. In all trials the reduction in food intake following d-Amp was significantly greater than would have been predicted from its effect on hunger. THYM (160 mg) and PPL (40 mg) were associated with no changes in food intake when given alone or with d-Amp, MTG increased food intake (but not significantly) and the combined effects of MTG and d-Amp was the algebraic sum of the effect of each; but there appeared to be no true pharmacological interaction between blocker and anorectic. The results indicated that there may be some dissociation between the effect of d-Amp on hunger and food intake but have failed to produce evidence that noradrenergic pathways are involved. The results are consistent with the theories that d-Amp anorexia does not involve the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) but that 5-HT pathways are involved in the feeding process.

Central and peripheral contributions to the enhancement of amphetamine anorexia by desmethylimipramine (DMI)

Intrahypothalamic administration of amphetamine to rats increased food intake, but pre-treatment with the alpha-receptor antagonist phentolamine unmasked an anorexic effect commensurate with that seen after peripheral amphetamine administration. Pretreatment with systemic DMI increased anorexia after peripheral or central amphetamine administration, but the enhancement of centrally-induced anorexia was small. It is concluded that enhancement of the anorexic effect of peripherally administered amphetamine by DMI is primarily a peripheral phenomenon, with interactions within the central nervous system making a relatively minor contribution.

Determination of the course of brainstem catecholamine fibers mediating amphetamine anorexia

Previous studies suggest that brainstem catecholamine (CA) fibers which mediate amphetamine (AMPH)-induced anorexia ascend through the midlateral medical forebrain bundle and perifornical region and terminate in the perifornical hypothalamic region (PFH) at the level of the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus. Through studies of wire-knife cuts (KCs) placed in the lower brainstem, the present paper further delineates the course of fibers mediating AMPH feeding suppression, as they ascend through the medullary, pontine and midbrain tegmentum. The results indicate that the crucial CA fibers ascend through the ventrolateral medulla just dorsal to the nucleus of the seventh cranial nerve, 1.1-1.9 mm lateral to midline. In their rostral course, these fibers apparently maintain a relatively straight position in the ventral pons and then enter the ventrolateral midbrain just dorsal to the medial lemniscus, between 0.7 and 1.1 mm lateral to midline. These medullary fibers, possibly originating from the norepinephrine/epinephrine-containing ventrolateral cell group (A1/C1), then appear to join additional fibers from the scattered dopamine-containing neurons positioned in the caudal midbrain (A8 CA cell group). Together, these dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine systems are believed to ascend into the medial aspect of the medial forebrain bundle on their way to the PFH at the level of the ventromedial nucleus.

Amphetamine anorexia and hypothalamic catecholamines in genetically obese mice (obob)

Genetically obese mice (obob) and their lean littermates were acclimated to a restricted food-access schedule of six hours and then treated with various doses of amphetamine (0, 3, 5 or 10 mg/kg). Saline-treated obob mice maintained on this schedule retained the primary characteristics of obob mice fed ad lib, i.e., hyperphagia, hyperglycemia, elevated hypothalamic norepinephrine (NE) levels. Both lean and obese mice treated with amphetamine showed a dose-dependent decrease in food intake and hypothalamic NE levels. In obob mice amphetamine treatment reduced food intake and hypothalamic NE levels to values which were not significantly different from those of similarly treated lean mice. When the drug dose was administered on a body weight basis, however, brain amphetamine levels were twice as high in obob as in lean mice. When the amphetamine dose was adjusted to produce approximately equivalent brain levels of amphetamine in obob and lean mice, the obob mice ate significantly more than lean mice. The results indicate that amphetamine is an effective anorectic agent capable of reducing food intake, body weight, and hypothalamic NE levels in obob mice.

Microstructural analysis of the involvement of beta-receptors in amphetamine anorexia

Rats were trained to take food by pushing the door of the pellet dispenser in an operant chamber. Log survivor analysis of the inter-response time frequency distribution was used to determine whether or not an animal was eating, at any time during a thirty minute session. This information was used to compute eating time, eating rate, and the mean length of bouts of eating and gaps between eating bouts. Video-recordings confirmed that the method discriminated eating from not eating with an accuracy of approximately ninety percent. Amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) significantly reduced total food intake and eating time, and increased gap length; propranolol (5 mg/kg) significantly increased eating time and bout length. Following propranolol pretreatment, amphetamine significantly reduced eating time and bout length but also significantly increased eating rate; as a result there was no significant decrease in total food intake. The possible mediation of these effects by beta-adrenergic and dopaminergic systems is discussed.