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ABSTRACT
Asthma is a chronic disease majorly characterized by episodic wheeze, cough, and dyspnoea caused by airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. Various treatments have been invented and developed to help in managing this condition in affected people. Leukotriene blockers, inhaled and oral corticosteroids are some of the effective treatments for asthma management. The objectives of this study was to determine the effects of Montelukast on blood pressure and pulse rate in asthma induced Sprague Dawley rats and to determine the effects of Hydrocortisone on blood pressure and pulse rate in asthma induced Sprague Dawley rats. This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of Montelukast, a Leukotriene receptor antagonist and hydrocortisone, a corticosteroid on blood pressure and pulse rate in asthma induced Sprague Dawley rats. Twenty (20) Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 180-250 g were divided into two (2) main groups; the Control group and Test group. The test group was further divided into two (2) subgroups treated with antiasthmatic drugs. The control group received normal rat chow and water throughout the experimental period while the test groups were exposed to concentrations of Ovalbumin (OVA, egg albumin grade II) and aluminum hydroxide to induce asthma after which they were treated with hydrocortisone and montelukast. The results showed that there was statistically significant increase in Mean Arterial Blood Pressure of Negative Control, Montelukast and Hydrocortisone groups when compared with control. There was also statistically significant increase in Mean Arterial Blood Pressure when Hydrocortisone was compared to Negative Control. There was statistically significant increase in Heart Rate in Negative Control group when compared with Control. The Montelukast group showed a significant decrease when compared with Control and Negative Control while the Hydrocortisone group showed a significant increase when compared with Montelukast and significant decrease when compared with the Negative Control group. In conclusion, the present results show that Montelukast and Hydrocortisone significantly caused an increase in blood pressure while Montelukast decreased the heart rate in the animals.
