title: Simvastatin treatment exerts antidepressant-like effect in rats exposed to chronic mild stress.
abstract: Hyperlipidemia is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke, both of which, in turn, are risk factors of old-age depression. Statins are extensively used for decreasing cholesterol levels. Clinical investigations revealed that long-term use of statins appeared to be associated with a lower risk of anxiety and depression. However, the antidepressant property of statins has not been well examined. This study aimed at examining the antidepressant-like effects of statins in rats exposed to chronic mild stress (CMS). We found that animals exposed to CMS for 4 weeks developed depressive-like state, shown by forced swim test and sucrose preference test. However, these CMS-induced behavioral changes were reversed by simvastatin (5 or 10mg/kg/day) for 14 days, comparable to imipramine (10mg/kg/day) treatment. Locomotor activity and anxiety-like behaviors were not altered by CMS or these treatments. These results demonstrated antidepressant-like effects of statin in CMS model of rats and suggested the potential that statins could be used to facilitate antidepressant treatment in clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Electronic address: py1029@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Pao-Yen
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Alice Y W
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsu-Kung
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013315:Stress, Psychological
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D019821:Simvastatin; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Antidepressant; Chronic mild stress; Forced swim test; Simvastatin; Sucrose preference test