Effect of Antidepressant Therapy on Psychological Health, Rehabilitation, Plasticity, and Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury in a Rodent Model
Abstract
Spinal cord injury is a devastating and debilitation condition that can induce depression and anxiety in the acute and chronic setting. There is general agreement in the medical community that these psychological health issues should be treated, mainly with administration of antidepressant medications. When considering which antidepressant drug to use, many physicians give venlafaxine, yet what remains unclear is the effect of this therapy on plasticity, functional rehabilitation and long term psychological health after SCI. We are, therefore, using a rat model of SCI to study each of these variables. We report the exercise rehabilitation after SCI induced increases in hind limb locomotor recovery with no significant changes in allodynia or lower urinary tract function. Also, exercise rehabilitation induced an increase in immobility time as measured in the Porsolt forced swim, which was found to be related to swimming ability. Thus, we have found that exercise rehabilitation increases functional recovery and on going studies will evaluate the effect of venlafaxine on this improvement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA555211
Entities
People
- Candance Floyd
Organizations
- University of Alabama