Gudadappanavar Anupama M, Hiremath Shrishail V, Torgal Shashikant
Context: Depression is the commonest mood disorder, could also be secondary to a number of physical disorders. Pharmacological treatment of such co-morbidities is difficult. If statins show antidepressant activity that could appear to be better lipid-lowering agents as they provide additional benefits in cardiovascular disorders with co-morbidity like depression. Aims: To investigate the effect of simvastatin, lovastatin and atorvastatin for their antidepressant activity using forced swim test and tail suspension test on behavioral models of depression in male swiss mice. Design: Experimental Study Methods and Material: The in vivo antidepressant activity of simvastatin and lovastatin was studied using forced swim test and tail suspension test. The mice received the drug as per their weight and subjected for experimentation. Group mean immobility time was calculated in treated and control groups for comparison. Statistical analysis used: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test. (P / 0.05) Results: Simvastatin and Lovastatin used in the present study showed significant antidepressant activity in both behavioral models of depression (p<0.05) while atorvastatin failed to show significant antidepressant action. Conclusion: The study suggests that the antidepressant activity of simvastatin and lovastatin, if could be extrapolated to clinical situations, appear to be better lipid-lowering agents as they provide additional benefits in cardiovascular disorders with co-morbidity like depression.
