Effects of escitalopram on ethanol withdrawal syndrome in rats

• Published in: Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 1027 - 1032
• Main Authors: Sağlam, Esra, Kayir, Hakan, Çelik, Turgay, Uzbay, Tayfun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 30.08.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Animals; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Depressants - adverse effects; Citalopram - therapeutic use; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Escitalopram; Ethanol - adverse effects; Ethanol dependence; Ethanol withdrawal syndrome; Male; Medical sciences; Motor Activity - drug effects; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychomotor Agitation - drug therapy; Psychomotor Agitation - etiology; Psychopharmacology; Rat(s); Rats; Rats, Wistar; Seizures - etiology; Seizures - prevention & control; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); Stereotyped Behavior - drug effects; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - complications; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - drug therapy; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - psychology; Rat(s); SERT; SSRIs; Escitalopram; Ethanol dependence; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); Ethanol withdrawal syndrome; Serotonin; Ethanol; Rat; Psychotropic; Rodentia; Reuptake inhibitor; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Dependence; Neurotransmitter; Antidepressant agent; Withdrawal syndrome
• ISSN: 0278-5846; 1878-4216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.03.028

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, on ethanol withdrawal syndrome in rats. Adult male Wistar rats (266–278 g) were subjects. Ethanol (7.2%, v/v) was given to rats by a liquid diet for 21 days. Control rats were pair fed with an isocaloric liquid diet containing sucrose as a caloric substitute to ethanol. Escitalopram (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) and saline were injected to rats intraperitoneally just before ethanol withdrawal. After the second and sixth hours of ethanol withdrawal, rats were observed for 5 min, and withdrawal signs that included locomotor hyperactivity, agitation, stereotyped behavior, wet dog shakes, tremors and audiogenic seizures were recorded or rated. A second series of injections was given 30 min before sixth hour of withdrawal test. Effects of escitalopram on the locomotor activities of the naïve (no ethanol-dependent) rats were also evaluated. Escitalopram (5 mg/kg) reduced the increased stereotyped behaviors at the sixth hour of ethanol withdrawal. It inhibited tremors at the second hour of ethanol withdrawal at doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg. Escitalopram (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) also produced some significant attenuations in the incidence of wet dog shakes at the second and sixth hours of the observation period. It was found ineffective on locomotor hyperactivity, agitation and audiogenic seizures. Escitalopram (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) did not cause any significant effect on locomotor activities of the naïve rats. Our results suggest that acute escitalopram treatment has some limited beneficial effects on ethanol withdrawal syndrome in rats.