Therapeutic effects of Laser and L-carnitine against amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity in adult male rats

Purpose: To compare the effects of laser and/or L-carnitine (LC) on amiodarone (AM)-induced lung toxicity in adult male rats.
Methods: Lung toxicity was induced in 50 healthy male albino rats (150-180 g) by AM for 8 weeks. The rats were divided into 4 groups (7 per group): AM recovery, LC, laser, and laser + LC. After a 4-week exposure to laser and/or LC, key antioxidant enzymes, nitric oxide (NO), angiotensin II, cyclooxygenase-II (COX-II) and lipoxygenase (LOX) as well as oxidative stress and inflammation parameters were determined.
Results: Administration of LC and/or laser exposure led to significant increases in reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and angiotensin II; and significant decreases in nitric oxide (NO) level and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity in the AM-treated rats when compared with the AM recovery group (p ˂ 0.05). The LC and/or laser exposure also significantly inhibited COX II and LOX activities in the lungs, and brought about significant reduction in levels of TNF-α and lipid peroxidation (LPO), and significant increases in cytochrome levels (p ˂ 0.05).
Conclusion: These results indicate that AM induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. However, AM withdrawal and treatment by LC and/or exposure to laser exerted mitigating effects against the AMinduced fibrosis.