Investigation of the Effects of Duloxetine on the Heart

Aim: Aim of study is to evaluate the effects of low and high dose duloxetine on early cardiac damage parameters such as K43, S100A,TnI and TnT expressions. Material and method: 24 male Wistar Albino rats were divided into three groups as control (1ml solvent), DDD (10 mg/kg) and YDD (100 mg/kg).After the experimental protocol, blood pressure and heart rate results of the anesthetized rats were recorded and HE staining, immunostaining of K43, S100A, TnI and TnT were applied to tissue sections. Results: In control group, K43 was seen as marked streaks between cardiomyocytes. TnI, TnT and S100A were homogeneous and dark brown in the cytoplasm. Intensity of K43 immunoreactivity was increased in duloxetine treated groups (p<0.05). TnT and S100A immunoreactivity were found to be lower in high dose group than in control and low dose group (p<0.05). TnI immunoreactivity was also decreased in the high dose duloxetine group when compared to the control group (p<0.05). Decreased mean blood pressure depending on the dosage was recorded. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between groups in terms of heart rate, ECG parameters, MDA, SOD, GSH and CAT levels. Conclusion: Our study shows that duloxetine causes increase in K43, and decrease in TnI, TnT and S100A expression. Duloxetine was observed to have no effect on oxidant and antioxidant parameters. While the heart rate remained unchanged, the mean blood pressure decreased in the high dose duloxetine group. Keywords: Rat, Heart, Antidepressant, Duloxetine, Immunohistochemistry