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Escitalopram reduces increased hippocampal cytogenesis in a genetic rat depression model.

Petersén, Åsa LU ; Wörtwein, Gitta ; Gruber, Susanne H M and Mathé, Aleksander A (2008) In Neuroscience Letters 436(3). p.305-308
Abstract
Hippocampal neurogenesis is potentially implicated in etiology of depression and as the final common mechanism underlying antidepressant treatments. However, decreased neurogenesis has not been demonstrated in depressed patients and, in animals, reduced cytogenesis was shown in healthy rats exposed to stressors, but, so far, not in models of depression. Here we report that the number of BrdU positive cells in hippocampus was (1) significantly higher in a rat model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) compared to control FRL, (2) increased in both FSL and FRL following maternal separation, (3) reduced by escitalopram treatment in maternally separated animals to the level found in non-separated animals. These results argue... (More)
Hippocampal neurogenesis is potentially implicated in etiology of depression and as the final common mechanism underlying antidepressant treatments. However, decreased neurogenesis has not been demonstrated in depressed patients and, in animals, reduced cytogenesis was shown in healthy rats exposed to stressors, but, so far, not in models of depression. Here we report that the number of BrdU positive cells in hippocampus was (1) significantly higher in a rat model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) compared to control FRL, (2) increased in both FSL and FRL following maternal separation, (3) reduced by escitalopram treatment in maternally separated animals to the level found in non-separated animals. These results argue against the prevailing hypothesis that adult cytogenesis is reduced in depression and that the common mechanism underlying antidepressant treatments is to increase adult cytogenesis. The results also point to the importance of using a disease model and not healthy animals for testing effects of potential treatments for human depression and suggest other cellular mechanisms of action than those that had previously been proposed for escitalopram. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Neuroscience Letters
volume
436
issue
3
pages
305 - 308
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000256330800004
  • pmid:18406530
  • scopus:43049167383
  • pmid:18406530
ISSN
0304-3940
DOI
10.1016/j.neulet.2008.03.035
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ab201615-d410-4ab2-a017-b26e2443a754 (old id 1147427)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18406530?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 08:33:42
date last changed
2022-01-29 03:37:34
@article{ab201615-d410-4ab2-a017-b26e2443a754,
  abstract     = {{Hippocampal neurogenesis is potentially implicated in etiology of depression and as the final common mechanism underlying antidepressant treatments. However, decreased neurogenesis has not been demonstrated in depressed patients and, in animals, reduced cytogenesis was shown in healthy rats exposed to stressors, but, so far, not in models of depression. Here we report that the number of BrdU positive cells in hippocampus was (1) significantly higher in a rat model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) compared to control FRL, (2) increased in both FSL and FRL following maternal separation, (3) reduced by escitalopram treatment in maternally separated animals to the level found in non-separated animals. These results argue against the prevailing hypothesis that adult cytogenesis is reduced in depression and that the common mechanism underlying antidepressant treatments is to increase adult cytogenesis. The results also point to the importance of using a disease model and not healthy animals for testing effects of potential treatments for human depression and suggest other cellular mechanisms of action than those that had previously been proposed for escitalopram.}},
  author       = {{Petersén, Åsa and Wörtwein, Gitta and Gruber, Susanne H M and Mathé, Aleksander A}},
  issn         = {{0304-3940}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{305--308}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Neuroscience Letters}},
  title        = {{Escitalopram reduces increased hippocampal cytogenesis in a genetic rat depression model.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2008.03.035}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.neulet.2008.03.035}},
  volume       = {{436}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}