Simvastatin treatment exerts antidepressant-like effect in rats exposed to chronic mild stress

Antidepressant-like effect of simvastatin in diabetic rats

“…Moreover, Kilic et al (2012) showed that acute administration of SMV (10, 30, or 50 mg/kg) reduced the immobility time in the FST. Recently, Lin et al (2014) found that administration of SMV (5 or 10 mg/kg, daily) for 14 days exerts an antidepressant effect in rats exposed to chronic mild stress.…”

“…A dose of 60 mg/kg will initiate an autoimmune process that results in the destruction of the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, with emergence of clinical diabetes within 2-4 days (Weiss 1982). Diabetic rats were then randomly selected to receive daily doses of 5 or 10 mg/kg of simvastatin or saline (n = 10 rats per group) orally for 14 days (Lin et al 2014). …”

“…Previous studies have shown that the administration of SMV to rats induces a significant neuroprotective effect and significantly improves functional neurological recovery after intracerebral hemorrhage, spinal cord injury, or traumatic brain injury (Wang et al 2007;Karki et al 2009;Han et al 2011). Recent preclinical studies have revealed that simvastatin treatment exerts an antidepressant-like effect in rats exposed to chronic mild stress (Lin et al 2014). Clinical data indicate that statin therapy is linked to a reduction in the incidence of depression and anxiety (Young-Xu et al 2003), although the mechanisms of action have not been established.…”

The effect of prolonged simvastatin application on serotonin uptake, membrane microviscosity and behavioral changes in the animal model

“…Schilling et al [52] demonstrated behavioral changes of basic exploration in the open field test and moreover cognitive alterations in the Barnes maze and affected startle response. Lin et al [37] reported that simvastatin (5 or 10 mg/kg/day) can reverse depressive-like states developed in rats exposed to chronic mild stress for 4 weeks. An antidepressant-like effect of simvastatin treatment was demonstrated in a forced swimming test and sucrose preference test; however anxiety-like behavior in OF and EPM was not influenced.…”

“…The link between the serotonergic system and statins is supported by pharmacological studies using coapplications of statins and antidepressants. Lin et al [37] demonstrated that simvastatin treatment facilitates the anti-depressant effect of imipramine in the chronic mild stress model in laboratory rats. Analogously, in the forced swimming test, lovastatin augments the antidepressant like effect of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [38].…”