Effect of a combination of duloxetine with hydroxyzine on experimental models of anxiety in mice

• Published in: Indian journal of pharmacology 2015-03, Vol.47 (2), p.173-176
• Main Authors: Patel, Sonam, Kale, Pravin Popatrao, Addepalli, Veeranjaneyulu, Sarkar, Amrita, Savai, Jay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Anxiety Agents - therapeutic use; Anxiety; Anxiety - drug therapy; Anxiety - metabolism; Anxiety - psychology; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biogenic Monoamines - metabolism; Brain - drug effects; Brain - metabolism; Combination drug therapy; Disease Models, Animal; Dosage and administration; Drug therapy; Drug Therapy, Combination; Duloxetine; Duloxetine Hydrochloride - administration & dosage; Duloxetine Hydrochloride - therapeutic use; Hydroxyzine; Hydroxyzine - administration & dosage; Hydroxyzine - therapeutic use; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Mental depression; Mice; Rodents; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0253-7613; 1998-3751
• DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.153424

There is a strong association between depression and anxiety. Duloxetine, an antidepressant agent, is also used in the treatment of anxiety. Hydroxyzine is preferred over benzodiazepines in the treatment of anxiety. Present study was designed to study the impact of a combination of duloxetine with hydroxyzine in treatment of anxiety. Mice received intraperitoneal injection of normal saline (10 ml/kg), duloxetine alone (10 mg/kg), hydroxyzine alone (10 mg/kg), and hydroxyzine plus duloxetine (5 mg/kg, each). The in vivo results (elevated plus maze and light/dark transition tests) showed significant anxiolytic activity with the hydroxyzine treatment than the control group. The brain monoamines were significantly increased in hippocampi, cerebral cortices, and whole brain in drug-treated groups than in the control group. The group receiving the combination showed similar results in the in vivo models and in vitro tests (brain monoamine estimations) than respective monotherapies, with the exception of a greater increase of norepinephrine levels in cerebral cortices in duloxetine-treated group. Combination of duloxetine with hydroxyzine is not beneficial in anxiolytic treatment than the respective monotherapies. There is a need to study the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions to understand the present study outcomes.