Antiulcer effect of escitalopram and venlafaxin in indomethacin-induced model of ulcer in rats

Title

Poster

Description

Mario Emilov, Kiril Stanchev, Sanya Spasova, Evgeni Haritov
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical Faculty, Medical University of Sofia

Subject

Peptic ulcer disease is a multifacetic etiological disease, involving depression and production of proinflammatory cytokines as major etiological factors. Several antidepressants were shown to reduce stress ulcer formation, perhaps to a greater extent than that seen with traditional therapies such as H-2 blockers and antiacides. Metods. Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups. Induction of depression was done by i.p. injection with LPS in all groups except the 1st one which received saline. From 3th day onwards, after the confirmation of depression by sucrose preference test (SPT), groups 2 to 4 were orally treated with escitalopram, venlafaxine and famotidine, respectively for 15 days. Thereafter, groups 2 to 4 in addition to a 5th group (indomethacin control) received 25 mg/kg indomethacin, p.o. Six hours later, all rats were sacrificed, the stomachs were excised and erosions on the surfaces of the stomachs were examined macroscopically. Part of each stomach was preserved to prepare homogenates for estimation of stomach contents of TNF-alpha by ELISA. Results. It was shown that, antidepressants displayed a significant reduction of the mucosal damage induced by indomethacin. Their effects were comparable to famotidine. It was also shown that the levels of TNF-alpha in the stomach were substancially decreased in the group of animals treated with antidepressants. Conclusion. Our study showed that, antidepressants have antiulcer effects. We speculate that they exert their antiulcer effects, because of their antiinflammatory properties and by reducing levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Our results confirm the hypothesis that the effects of antidepressant are associated with their immunomodulatory potencial.