الفهرس 
DepressionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Depression is the most common psychatric disorder that puts a
heavy burden on both human and society. Many theories are found
about its pathogenesis: monoamine, neurotrophic, neuroendocrine and
oxidative stress theories. Despite of the presence of many
antidepressant drugs, the prevalence of the disease is still steady. So,
we are still in need of developing new drugs.
Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and is
widely used in treatment of depression.
Simvastatin, one of lipid lowering drugs, is thought to have
antidepressant effect through its antioxidant, antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory
activities. It also increases level of serotonin and BDNF
in hippocampus.
In the present study, we aimed to investigate the possible
antidepressant effect of simvastatin alone or in combination with
fluoxetine in hydrocortisone induced depression in rats. This was done
through clinical, behavioral and biochemical assessment.
Rats were divided into five groups each eight rats.
1. Control group: vehicle treated group.
2. Hydrocortisone group: intraperitoneal injection of hydrocortisone
40mg/kg once daily for 21 consecutive days before doing
behavioral tests and received oral saline from day 8.
3. Fluoxetine group: this group received hydrocortisone and was
treated with 10 mg/kg of fluoxetine that was administrated orally
for two weeks starting from day 8.
4. Simvastatin group: this group received hydrocortisone and was
treated with 10 mg/kg of simvastatin that was administrated orally
for 2 weeks starting from day 8.
5. Fluoxetine and simvastatin group: this group received
hydrocortisone and was treated with fluoxetine and simvastatin
that were given orally for 2 weeks starting from day 8 at the same
previous doses with one hour separation between giving the 2
drugs orally.