Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome of diffuse body pain with associations of fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive changes, mood disturbance, and other variable somatic symptoms. The present work was constructed to study the potential therapeutic effect of low dose gamma irradiation alone or combined with duloxetine or curcumin on an experimental model of fibromyalgia induced by reserpine in rats. Reserpine was administered subcutaneously once daily for three consecutive days in a dose of 1 mg/kg. Rats were treated by exposure to a single low dose of gamma radiation (0.5Gy) on day 7 of the experiment. Duloxetine (30 mg/ kg, p.o.) was administered on day 8 of the experiment 1 h before behavioural assessment. Curcumin (300 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered once daily for four consecutive days (i.e. day 4, 5, 6 and 7). The immobility time of rats in the forced swimming test was assessed. Moreover, the brain content of biogenic amines (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine) as well as brain oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde, glutathione and nitric oxide) were estimated. Reserpine administration increased the immobility time, decreased the brain biogenic amines and increased brain oxidative stress biomarkers. Treatment of reserpinized rats with Low dose of Þ irradiation (0.5Gy) alone or combined with either duloxetine (30 mg/ kg, p.o.) or curcumin (300 mg/kg, p.o.) resulted in significant reduction in the immobility time, amelioration of brain biogenic amines reduction and improvement of brain oxidant status. On the basis of the presented evidences, it could be concluded that low dose of Þ irradiation alone or combined with either duloxetine or curcumin could be of value in the management of fibromyalgia

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