Reduced effectiveness of escitalopram in the forced swimming test is associated with increased serotonin clearance rate in food-restricted rats.
Efficacy of antidepressant drugs is often limited. One of the limiting factors may be diet. This study shows that the effect of escitalopram in the forced swimming test is diminished in rats by food restriction that decreased body weight by 8%. The primary target for escitalopram is the serotonin (5-HT) transporter. Using high-speed chronoamperometry to measure 5-HT clearance in vivo in rats fed the same food-restricted diet, the rate of 5-HT clearance from extracellular fluid in brain was dramatically increased. Increased 5-HT transporter function under conditions of dietary restriction might contribute to the decreased effect of escitalopram. These results suggest that diet plays an integral role in determining efficacy of antidepressant drugs, and might well generalize to other psychoactive drugs that impinge upon the 5-HT transporter.
Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. france@uthscsa.edu
Charles P
CP
France
Jun-Xu
JX
Li
William A
WA
Owens
Wouter
W
Koek
Glenn M
GM
Toney
Lynette C
LC
Daws
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D015283:Citalopram / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods; D005508:Food Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D046353:Immobility Response, Tonic / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013550:Swimming; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
D015283:Citalopram; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D014867:Water