Escitalopram treatment ameliorates chronic immobilization stress-induced depressive behavior and cognitive deficits by modulating BDNF expression in the hippocampus
- Title
- Escitalopram treatment ameliorates chronic immobilization stress-induced depressive behavior and cognitive deficits by modulating BDNF expression in the hippocampus
- Creator
- Mayegowda S.B.; Rao B.V.; Rao B.S.R.S.
- Description
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects 21% of the global population. Chronic exposure to stressful situations may affect the onset, progression, and biochemical alterations underlying MDD and associated cognitive impairments. Patients exhibiting MDD are mainly treated with several antidepressants; one is escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. However, whether or not it mitigates chronic stress-induced cognitive deficits is unknown. The present study exposed rats to chronic immobilization stress (CIS) 2 hours/day for 10 days. Then, escitalopram (5 mg and 10 mg/kg i.p.) was administered for 14 days and subjected to the elevated plus maze, open field test, forced swim test, sucrose preference test, and radial arm maze task. A different set of animals were used to assess the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and amygdale. Our data suggest that escitalopram significantly protected CIS-induced spatial learning and memory deficits, behavioral depression, and anxiety. Furthermore, escitalopram (10 mg/kg) shows a remarkable recovery of dentate gyrus and hippocampal atrophy. In addition, the restoration of molecular markers BDNF, VEGF, and GFAP expression is also implicated in the neuroprotective mechanisms of escitalopram. Our results suggested that esciatlorpam restores cognitive impairments in stressed rats by regulating neurotrophic factors and astrocytic markers. 2024 Shilpa Borehalli Mayegowda et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). All Rights Reserved.
- Source
- Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, Vol-14, No. 3, pp. 170-182.
- Date
- 2024-01-01
- Publisher
- Open Science Publishers LLP Inc.
- Subject
- cronic stress; escitalopram; Hippocampus; neuronal plasticity; neurotrophic factors
- Coverage
- Mayegowda S.B., Department of Psychology, Christ Deemed to be University, Bengaluru, India; Rao B.V., Department of Pharmacology, KLE College of Pharmacy, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KAHER), Bengaluru, India; Rao B.S.R.S., Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India
- Rights
- All Open Access; Gold Open Access
- Relation
- ISSN: 22313354
- Format
- Online
- Language
- English
- Type
- Article
Collection
Citation
Mayegowda S.B.; Rao B.V.; Rao B.S.R.S., “Escitalopram treatment ameliorates chronic immobilization stress-induced depressive behavior and cognitive deficits by modulating BDNF expression in the hippocampus,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed February 26, 2025, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/13244.