%0 Journal Article %T L-Carnitine potentiates the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of diclofenac sodium in an experimentally induced knee osteoarthritis rat model %J Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences %I Mashhad University of Medical Sciences %Z 2008-3866 %A khodir, suzan %A Al-Gholam, Marwa %A Salem, Heba R. %D 2020 %\ 08/01/2020 %V 23 %N 8 %P 1035-1044 %! L-Carnitine potentiates the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of diclofenac sodium in an experimentally induced knee osteoarthritis rat model %K CGRP COX %K 2 L %K carnitine MMP %K 13 Osteoarthritis %R 10.22038/ijbms.2020.43136.10138 %X Objective(s): The aim of the present research is to investigate the efficacy of L-carnitine (LC) as a complementary therapy to diclofenac sodium (Dic) treatment in a mono-iodoacetate (MIA) induced knee osteoarthritis (OA) rat model, with respect to pain relief and the underlying pathology.Materials and Methods: Fifty adult male albino rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=10): Control, OA, OA/Dic, OA/LC, and OA/Dic+LC. Knee diameter and pain assessment tests were done weekly. After four weeks, serum malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione, interleukin 1-β, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, prostaglandin E2, and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase were measured. The injected knees were removed and processed for the histological and immunohistological study of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). Also, histological examination of dorsal root ganglia and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression in the spinal cord were assessed.Results: Treatment with Dic and/or LC significantly reduced knee swelling, improved pain-related behaviors, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, attenuated the MIA-mediated histopathological alteration in the knee joint, and down-regulated expression of MMP-13 and COX-2 in the knee joint. It, also, significantly reduced CGRP expression, compared with the OA group. Dic+LC showed a better effect in improving some parameters than each treatment alone.Conclusion: LC plus Dic is a more effective therapy than Dic alone for OA treatment. %U https://ijbms.mums.ac.ir/article_15836_a6f014e944afbc552c8983aa8eda6a35.pdf