Influência benéfica da estimulação tátil sobre distúrbios do movimento e dano oxidativo cerebral induzido por haloperidol em ratos

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a disease that affects about 20 million people worldwide, constituting an obstacle to family and social life and to work performance, thus causing a serious public health problem, whose pathophysiology has been related to dopaminergic hyperfunction in the mesocorticolimbic region. Classic antipsychotic drugs such as haloperidol (HAL) are still part of the therapeutic arsenal in the treatment of schizophrenia, however, the use of drugs related to these drugs causes serious movement disorders, which can range from parkinsonism and bradykinesia to irreversible and disabling condition, such as tardive dyskinesia (TD), which together constitute extrapyramidal conflicts. In this sense, prevention and/or minimization of extrapyramidal disorders resulting from treatment with classic antipsychotics are necessary. Tactile stimulation (TS) is a form of therapy that has shown satisfactory responses in different neuropsychiatric situations, from the neonatal period, as well as in adult life. This study aimed to evaluate the possible tolerant influence of TS on extrapyramidal disorders and markers of oxidative stress (OS) induced by HAL in adult rats. The animals were initially allocated into two groups, which received 4 doses of HAL (12 mg/kg/mL) or vehicle solution (control) every 7 days, for 28 days. From day 21, immediately after administration of the last dose of HAL/vehicle, half of the animals in each group were submitted to the ET protocol (15 min of stimulation, 3 times a day), during the subsequent 9 days. At the end of the ET protocol, the animals were admitted to behavioral estimations of OD, catalepsy, and open field locomotion test. TS minimized catalepsy time and OD frequency, also reversing reduced locomotion and increased freezing time, induced by HAL. Biochemical assays carried out in the extrapyramidal areas of the brain (striatum and substantia nigra) found that TS absorbed markers of oxidative damage in both regions. These findings indicate prolonged effects of TS compared to extrapyramidal motor side effects resulting from neuroleptic treatment.