EFFECTS OF INHALATION OF LOW DOSES OF RADON IN THE KRUSHINSKY-MOLODKINA RAT STRAIN AND STUDY OF VARIOUS BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

To study the effect of radon in balneotherapy, a group of experimental animals (multiple low doses in KM and epileptic Wistar rats were used) went through the procedure of inhalation of radon by the Tskaltubo mineral water pool, once daily, during 20 min, 10 days. In animals of the control groups, inhalation with radon was not used. After radon inhalation therapy with Tskaltubo mineral water, it was analyzed the absence or reduction of epileptic seizures. This research showed that Tskaltubo mineral water radon inhalation caused hormesis, absence or reduction of epileptic seizures. The result was stable during 6-12 months. Stabilization positively influenced oxidative stress levels, Na/K-ATF in epileptic rats. The result of our experiment gives us a stimulus to continue future research to find more specific neurochemical mechanisms participating in radon hormesis processes. Oxidative stress resulting from excessive free-radical release is likely implicated in the initiation and progression of epilepsy. An increase in active forms of oxygen or free radicals of oxygen is believed to play an important role in epileptic rats. To investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and memory impairment in epileptic mice, we determined the level of activity of antioxidant enzymes in blood plasma. The results showed that the level of lipid peroxidation in the plasma was significantly higher in epileptic rats than in control Wistar rats. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the effects of radon inhalation on different forms of behavior in epileptic rats, both to positive and negative stimuli. As known from the literature, antioxidant therapies aimed at reducing oxidative stress have received considerable attention in epilepsy treatment. This article discusses various forms of behavior in KM rats as revealed by experiments. The KM rat strain differs from the Wistar rat strain in the nature of the locomotor activity, a higher level of exploratory activity, and increased emotionality. For rats of the KM rat strain, instability of behavioral reactions is characteristic, which manifests itself in all areas of their activity in the “open field” test. As for memory in epileptic rats, the behavior based on negative stimuli is not impaired in their psycho-neurological memory. Conditioned-reflex behavior developed on a positive stimulus, which we studied in a trestle-type maze, the obtained results showed that 10 epileptic rats complete the exit of this maze in 1 minute, already after 7 days without error. We have studied three sections of social environment awareness. It was determined that the time (p<0.001) and the number of contacts (p<0.001) were statistically significantly reduced among КM male rats. Decrease in indicators of social interaction: Group KM reliably spent less time in the compartment with animals (р<0.01) and spent more time near its cell. As a result of movement in the cross-maze, it was determined that KM rats spent more time in the closed arm, had more interrupted and rotated (tail-to-front) grooming than in the open arm, and also had a higher number of stand-ups than in the open arm, which is an indicator of its high anxiety. Inhalation of radon reduced oxidative stress in epileptic rats, and alleviated anxiety, together with definite memory improvement.