title: Effect of escitalopram on cardiomyopathy-induced anxiety in mice.
abstract: The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of escitalopram on anxiety following doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiomyopathy, a rodent model for heart failure (HF), in mice. The study was carried out in Swiss albino mice. DOX was used at a dose of 10 mg/kg intravenously. Escitalopram was administered at the doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg orally for 7 days pre- and 7 days post-DOX. Anxiety was measured on day 8 and on day 14 using elevated plus maze and Vogel's conflict test. On day 14, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was estimated. The mice were then killed and their hearts were dissected out for the estimation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and for the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies. Our results showed that the DOX administration induced cardiomyopathy in mice. This was evidenced by the increased levels of serum LDH and tissue MDA and was also confirmed by TEM. Escitalopram (20 mg/kg) not only reversed the anxiety-like effects induced by DOX but also DOX-induced increase in LDH and MDA as well as the morphological alterations induced by DOX in TEM studies. Escitalopram, thus, appears to be a good candidate for alleviating anxiety in patients with HF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Anwar
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samad
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vohora
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications*; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000633:toxicity; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D059005:Topoisomerase II Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D015283:Citalopram; D004317:Doxorubicin; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D059005:Topoisomerase II Inhibitors
keywords: Escitalopram; Vogel’s conflict test; anxiety; cardiomyopathy; doxorubicin; elevated plus maze