The antioxidant potential of alprazolam on the redox status of peripheral blood leukocytes in restraint-stressed mice.

AIMS: Stress can cause adverse reactions in the body that induce a wide range of biochemical and behavioral changes. Oxidative damage is an established outcome of stress that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of mood and anxiety disorders. Anxiolytic drugs are widely prescribed to treat these conditions; however, no animal study has investigated the effect of benzodiazepines on the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the peripheral blood leukocytes of stressed mice.

MAIN METHODS: Mice were immobilized for a period of 6h. Alprazolam (0.1-0.8 mg/kg of body weight) was administered 30 min before subjecting the animals to acute stress. The level of intracellular ROS in lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes in the peripheral blood of stressed mice was investigated by using a 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) probe.

KEY FINDINGS: Our results show that restraint stress significantly increases the generation of ROS in peripheral defense cells. Treatment with alprazolam partially reverses the adverse effects of stress.

SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that the therapeutic efficacy of alprazolam may be mediated, at least partially, by the reversal of oxidative damage as demonstrated by the protective enhancement of antioxidant status following a stress-induced decline. Because alprazolam is used for the treatment of anxiety in patients with cancer, neurodegenerative disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, and other diseases, these results may have important clinical implications.