scholarly journals Time to Abolish the Forced Swim Test in Rats for Depression Research?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Constança Carvalho ◽  
Kathrin Herrmann ◽  
Tiago A. Marques ◽  
Andrew Knight
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Citation Analysis ◽  
Forced Swim Test ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Swim Test ◽  
Forced Swim ◽  
Number Of Citations

Abstract The forced swim test (FST) is a controversial rodent test that has been used for decades, mainly in depression studies. The severity of the procedure makes it ethically questionable and its validity has also been questioned. In this paper we contribute new data to this debate. We identified original research papers related to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), using rats as models. We compared the citations received by studies that used the FST and by studies that did not, within subsequent human medical papers. The results show that the number of citations received by both groups was very low, but in the papers describing the FST data the median citation number was zero. Citation analysis indicates that the FST is not contributing significantly to the understanding or cure of MDD. We briefly review other approaches that overcome the ethical limitations of the FST, and which might also surpass its efficacy.

Selective activation of D1 dopamine receptors exerts antidepressant-like activity in rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1443-1448
Author(s):  
Cleo Desormeaux ◽  
Fanny Demars ◽  
Elisabeth Davenas ◽  
Therese M Jay ◽  
Francis Lavergne
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Psychosocial Functioning ◽  
Receptor Agonist ◽  
Forced Swim Test ◽  
D1 Receptor ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Swim Test ◽  
Forced Swim

Background: Major depressive disorder is a common illness that severely decreases psychosocial functioning. Due to the major limitations of current treatments including response failure, it is crucial to develop better therapy strategies. Evidence suggests that dopamine dysregulation might play a major role in major depressive disorder physiopathology. Aims: This study investigates whether the dopamine D1 receptor agonist A77636 modulates antidepressant-like activity in rats. Methods: Rats were injected with an acute single dose of A77636 (0.75, 1.5 or 3 mg/kg), a potent and selective dopamine D1-like receptor agonist. Their locomotor activity, social interactions and behavioural response to the forced swim test were analysed 30 min after the injection. Results: During the forced swim test, the D1 agonist dose dependently reduced the immobility while the time of bursting was increased. Social interactions were significantly increased in the animals exposed to 3 mg/kg of A77636 whereas no significant changes were measured in general motor activity. Conclusions: The present results provide evidence that pharmacological modulation of D1 receptor by the selective agonist A77636 induces antidepressant-like effects in rats, which encourages further studies regarding D1-specific modulation in major depressive disorder treatment.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Rat Studies to Current Knowledge of Major Depressive Disorder: Results From Citation Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constança Carvalho ◽  
Filipa Peste ◽  
Tiago A. Marques ◽  
Andrew Knight ◽  
Luís M. Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Citation Analysis ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Major Depressive

scholarly journals Original Research Article_Functional somatic symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder in a tertiary care hospital

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Fenil Shah ◽  
Bhaveshkumar M. Lakdawala ◽  
Vaishal N. Vora ◽  
Manasvi V. Jariwala ◽  
Vihang Patel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Somatic Symptoms ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Major Depressive

scholarly journals The Relevance of In Silico, In Vitro and Non-human Primate Based Approaches to Clinical Research on Major Depressive Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 128-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constança Carvalho ◽  
Susana A.M. Varela ◽  
Luísa Ferreira Bastos ◽  
Inês Orfão ◽  
Vanda Beja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Respective Contribution ◽  
Innovative Techniques ◽  
Human Primate

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most severe form of depression and the leading cause of disability worldwide. When considering research approaches aimed at understanding MDD, it is important that their effectiveness is evaluated. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of original studies on MDD by rating their contributions to subsequent medical papers on the subject, and we compared the respective contribution of findings from non-human primate (NHP) studies and from human-based in vitro or in silico research approaches. For each publication, we conducted a quantitative citation analysis and a systematic qualitative analysis of the citations. In the majority of cases, human-based research approaches (both in silico and in vitro) received more citations in subsequent human research papers than did NHP studies. In addition, the human-based approaches were considered to be more relevant to the hypotheses and/or to the methods featured in the citing papers. The results of this study suggest that studies based on in silico and in vitro approaches are taken into account by medical researchers more often than are NHP-based approaches. In addition, these human-based approaches are usually cheaper and less ethically contentious than NHP studies. Therefore, we suggest that the traditional animal-based approach for testing medical hypotheses should be revised, and more opportunities created for further developing human-relevant innovative techniques.

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