Aromatase inhibition and ketamine in rats: sex-differences in antidepressant-like efficacy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ketamine has been recently approved to treat resistant depression; however preclinical studies showed sex differences in its efficacy. Sex steroids, such as estrogens and testosterone, both in the periphery and locally in the brain, are regarded as important modulators of these sex differences. Therefore, the present study evaluated how inhibiting the biosynthesis of estrogens with letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) could affect the observed sex differences in ketamine's antidepressant-like-response.

Methods

We performed several consecutive studies in adult Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate potential sex differences in the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine (5 mg/kg, 7 days, i.p.), letrozole (1 mg/kg, 8 days, i.p.) and their combination (letrozole pre-treatment

SUBMITTER: Ledesma-Corvi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10599051 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature