Comparison between Cannabidiol and Fluoxetine effects on chronic neuropathic pain and depression comorbid in rats
摘要
Neuropathic pain (NP) is an uncomfortable and debilitating condition often associated with comorbidities like depression, which amplify its severity and worsen the prognosis and treatment. Cannabidiol (CBD) could be a potential medical treatment for NP and comorbidities. We investigated the effect of chronic treatment with either CBD (at 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg) or the classical antidepressant fluoxetine (FLX) (at 20 mg/kg) on the helplessness forced swimming (FS), the anhedonia sucrose preference (SP), and mechanical allodynia von Frey (VF) tests in NP rats. The percentage of SP, the immobility behavior in FS, and the mechanical allodynia in the VF tests increased in NP rats. The CBD and FLX treatments decreased the SP percentage and attenuated the frequency and duration of immobility in the FS test in CCI rats. The treatment with CBD (at 30 mg/kg) attenuated mechanical allodynia in CCI rats compared to the Vehicle/CCI, FLX/CCI, and CBD (at 3 mg/kg) treated group. The NP was associated with depression-related behavior in all CCI rats. FLX significantly attenuated only the depression-like immobility behavior. CBD can be a potential pharmacological tool to mitigate both symptoms in chronic NP and depression comorbid conditions.