Effect of venlafaxine on hippocampal BDNF levels in depression-induced rats

Year 2018, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 766 - 775, 24.05.2018

Arif Demirdaş , İbrahim Eren Hilmi Demirin Onur Aktürk Hüseyin Vural

https://doi.org/10.37212/jcnos.426634

Abstract

Although antidepressant drugs have been used for approximately 60 years, very little is known about their effect mechanism. Structural abnormalities, particularly in the hippocampus, are observed in brain structures of depressed patients. The correction of these abnormalities with treatment suggests that major depressive disorders may be associated with a decrease in cellular elasticity and structural plasticity, and antidepressant treatments may provide benefits by treating these disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of venlafaxine treatment on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and BDNF levels in the hippocampus of depression-induced rats by using the chronic mild stress (CMS) model. In this study, 30 eight-week-old, Wistar albino male rats were divided into three groups. The first group received venlafaxine (20 mg/kg) with CMS, the second group a placebo with CMS, and the third group only a placebo (n = 10) for four weeks. At the end of the four week period, BDNF levels in hippocampus tissues were measured. The measurements showed that the BDNF levels of the depressed group were significantly lower than those of the control group. In our study, the hippocampal BDNF levels of the venlafaxine administered group were similar to those of the control group and significantly higher than those of the depressed group. In conclusion, these findings show that the BDNF, which has an important function in neuroplasticity, plays a role in depression pathophysiology, and venlafaxine prevents the BDNF decrease observed in depression. This latter result supports the view that depression treatment prevents the long-term complications of the disorder.

Keywords

Depression; BDNF; Venlafaxine; Hippocampus; Neuroplasticity.

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