Giris ve Amaç: Nükleer faktör kappa-B kolitte izlenen inflamasyonda anahtar rol oynamaktadir. Leflunomid nükleer faktör kappa- B aktivasyonunu inhibe eden etkili bir immünmodülatör ilaçtir. Leflunomid’in Crohn hastaliginda kullanimina dair az sayida veri vardi r ancak kolitteki etkilerine dair çalisma mevcut degildir. Bu çalismada siçanlarda asetik asitle olusturulan kolit modelinde leflunomid’in etkinliginin arastirilmasi planlanmistir. Gereç ve Yöntem: 40 adet Winstar albino siçanlar randomize olarak dört gruba ayrilmi stir. Gruplar su sekildedir: Grup1: Kolit, Grup2: Leflunomid tedavisi uygulanan kolit: Grup3: Leflunomid tedavisi ve intrarektal salin ve Grup 4: Kontrol grubu. Distal kolit %4 asetik asit’in intrarektal yolla uygulanmasi ile olusturulmustur. Leflunomid (10 mg/kg) intragastrik yolla islemden sekiz saat ve hemen önce verilmistir. Kolon hasari makroskopik ve mikroksopik skorlamalar yapilarak ve biyokimyasal parametrelerle incelenmistir. Bakteri translokasyonu ayri ca incelenmistir. Bulgular: Asetik asit ciddi kolit tablosuna yol açmi s buna karsin leflunomid tedavisi kolitte iyilestirici bir etki göstermemistir. Kolit grubu ve leflunomid uygulanan kolit grubunda makroskopik skor sirayla 2,2+1,1 ve 3+1, histolojik skorlama 3,2+1,3 ve 3,2+2,4, p>0,05 olarak saptanmistir. Mortalite oranlari ve bakteri translokasyonu oranlari leflunomid alan ve almayan kolit gruplarinda benzerlik göstermistir. Sonuç: Deneysel akut kolit modelinde leflunomid tedavisi yararli etki göstermemistir.
Background and Aims: Nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) plays a key role in initiating inflammation associated with colitis. Leflunomide is a novel immunomodulating drug and a potent inhibitor of NF-κB activation. There are limited clinical data about the beneficial effects of leflunomide in Crohn’s disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of leflunomide pretreatment in acetic acid-induced colitis in rats. Materials and Methods: Forty rats were randomly assigned into groups as: group 1, colitis with no pretreatment; group 2, leflunomide-treated colitis; group 3, leflunomidetreated no colitis, and group 4, controls. Distal colitis was induced in rats by intracolonic instillation of 4% acetic acid. Leflunomide (10 mg/kg) was administered intragastrically as two doses with an 8-h interval prior to the experiment. Colonic damage was assessed by macroscopic and histological criteria as well as biochemical markers. Bacterial translocation was also evaluated. Results and Conclusions: Acetic acid induced severe colitis while leflunomide pretreatment did not affect the macroscopic or microscopic histological scores in colitis. Macroscopic score was 3±1 in the leflunomide-treated and 2.2±1.1 in the untreated colitis group while histological scores were 3.2±2.4 and 3.2±1.3, respectively. There was no difference in mortality rates or bacterial translocation between groups. Early inhibition of NF-κB via leflunomide does not improve inflammation in acute colitis.