The Effect of Rosuvastatin on Formalin-Induced Nociceptive Behavior in an Experimental Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg/day, p.o.) on the flinching nociceptive behavior produced by subcutaneous injection of 0.5 % formalin in the dorsum of the right hind paw from Wistar rats submitted to a 16-week treatment, including a standard rat chow diet (STD-diet) or a high fat-diet (HF-diet). At three days post-treatment, the formalin-induced nociceptive response was assessed for 1 h. Compared to the STD-diet, the HF-diet significantly increased the number of flinches in the second phase of the formalin test, as well as inducing higher body weight and levels of glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin and blood pressure. Rosuvastatin significantly decreased the formalin-induced nociceptive behavior after both diets and significantly reduced those metabolic parameters in rats with a HF- but not STD-diet. Key words High-fat diet " Nociception " Metabolic syndrome " Formalin test.