Effects of zonisamide on post-traumatic stress dissorder in rats

It was aimed to investigate the effects of zonisamide administered systemically to rats with post-traumatic stress disorder due to predatory odor on freezing time, anxiety index and serum neurotrophin levels. Twenty-four female Wistar rats were used in the study. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, trauma, zonisamide and trauma-developed zonisamide administered treatment group. Rats in the trauma and treatment groups were exposed to predatory odor stress. A week later, saline was administered to the control and trauma groups, and 50 mg/kg zonisamide was administered to the zonisamide and treatment groups via oral gavage. Following the administrations, the rats were exposed to a trauma reminder and their behaviour were monitored in an elevated plus maze. Immediately following the behavioural experiment, blood samples were taken and the animals were sacrificed. Increased freezing time and anxiety index in the trauma group compared to the control group were suppressed with zonisamide administered systemically via oral gavage. Zonisamide treatment did not affect serum neurotrophin levels. The findings obtained in our study indicate that zonisamide may be effective in post-traumatic stress disorder.