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chronic toxic side effects of adriamycin (Siveski-Iliskovic et al. l995).Treatment with
probucol significant improved hemodynamic functions and caused the decrease in
overall mortality. Probucol also prevented the occurrence of ultrastructural changes in the
heart (Siveski-Iliskovic et al. 1995). Another study using lymphoma bearing mice has
shown that protective effects of probucol did not interfere with antitumor effects of
adriamycin (Siveski-Iliskovic et al. 1995).
The administration of probucol also provides a protection against the adriamycininduced
disturbances in the activity of the endogenous antioxidant reserve. Probucol
administration was shown to cause the depression in the SOD and GSHPs activity in the
hearts during the early stages of adriamycin-induced heart failure (Li et al. 2000; Li and
Singal 2000). Probucol administration was found maintain the GSHPx activity (Li et al.
2000; Li and Singal 2000). Administration of probucol was also shown to prevent a
decrease in the MnSOD mRNA and protein levels at the late stages of adriamycininduced
heart failure while increasing the SOD levels (Li et al. 2000; Li and Singal
2000).
One of the deleterious effects of adriamycin administration is the increase in the
total lipid levels in plasma and myocardial tissue (Iliskovic and Singal 1997; Joles et al.
1993). Due to its antilipdemic properties, probucol was shown to cause the normalization
of plasma and myocardial triglyceride and cholesterol content (Iliskovic and Singal
1997). One of the features of adriamycin-induced heart failure is a development of
cardiomyocyte apoptosis (Kumar et al. 1999). Probucol was found to cause significant
decrease in the incidence adriamycin-induced apoptosis in the heart (Kumar et al.2001).
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