Evaluating the effect of vortioxetin on treatment and improvement of motor functions in experimental rat spinal injury model

Spinal cord injury is a condition characterized by the loss of motor abilities that can cause severe motor sensory and autonomic impairments and is one of the first causes of noncongenic disability. In addition to motor vehicle accidents, many trauma mechanisms can cause spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury is a two-stage process that occurs pathophysiologically by primary and secondary mechanisms. In this study, 21 Wistar Albino male adult rats were divided into three groups as experiment-sham control; the rats in the control group were subjected to surgical burden only by laminectomy, and the rats in the experimental and sham groups were injured using the clip compression method. During the research, the therapeutic effect of Vortioxetine on secondary injury and its effects on serotonin pathways have been investigated on all rats by performing histological evaluation (Luxol Fast Blue staining, Hematoxylin & Eosin staining, Serotonin immunostaining, spinal cord serotonin level measurement by ELISA) after sacrification and using neuromotor examination methods (inclined plane, motor scoring, footprint analysis) . Vortioxetine was given to the rats in the experimental group, while saline was given to the rats in the sham group during the research. Considering the dual comparisons of the groups according to motor examination and inclined plane degrees, it was found that the experimental group made a statistically significant difference compared to the sham group on the 3rd (p = 0.004- p = 0.007), 5th (p = 0.008- p = 0.001), 7th (p = 0.011- p = 0.001), and 10th ( p = 0.004- p = 0.001) days; in the H&E staining of spinal cord tissue samples that was taken after sacrification, the damage percentage of the experimental group was less than that of the sham group (p = 0.022) and in Luxol Fast Blue staining of the same samples, it was found that 71.4% of the rats in the experimental group had normal myelinization and 42.9% of the rats in the sham group showed severe demyelination. No statistical significance was found in the analyzes related to serotonin. In the experimental rat spinal cord injury model, it has been observed that Vortioxetine has a healing effect on therapeutic and motor functions. Keywords: laminectomy, serotonin, spinal cord injury, trauma, vortioxetine