| 29601832 |
Antidepressant effects of acupoint stimulation and fluoxetine by increasing dendritic arborization and spine density in CA1 hippocampal neurons of socially isolated rats. |
Neurosci Lett. 2018 May 14;675:48-53. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.03.057. Epub 2018 Mar 27. |
2018 May 14 |
Given the importance of depression and the adverse effects of conventional treatment, it is necessary to seek complementary therapies. In a rat model of depression, this study aimed to assess the behavioral and morphological effects of embedding absorbable thread in acupoints (acu-catgut), and compare the results to those of fluoxetine treatment and the corresponding control groups. Therefore, depressive-like behavior was evaluated with the forced swimming test, and dendritic morphology (in the CA1 hippocampal region) with the Golgi-Cox technique and Sholl analysis. After weaning, male Sprague-Dawley rats were housed in social isolation for 8 weeks to induce depressive-like behavior. They were then given a 21-day treatment by stimulating acupoints with acu-catgut (AC) or fluoxetine (FX) (2鈥痬g/kg). Rats were divided into six groups: Control (socially housed), social isolation (SI), SI鈥?鈥疉C, SI鈥?鈥疭ham (sham embedding of thread), SI鈥?鈥疐X and SI鈥?鈥疺H (vehicle). Compared to fluoxetine, acu-catgut treatment was more effective in reversing depressive-like behavior elicited by SI. The SI-induced reduction in dendritic length and spine density in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons was attenuated after prolonged treatment with acu-catgut or fluoxetine. Hence, both treatments proved capable of reversing depressive-like alterations caused by SI, likely due to dendritic remodeling in the hippocampus."
|
