Established amyloid-β pathology is unaffected by chronic treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine

Maurizio Severino, Mithula Sivasaravanaparan, Louise Ø Olesen, Christian U von Linstow, Athanasios Metaxas, Elena V Bouzinova, Asif Manzoor Khan, Kate L Lambertsen, Alicia A Babcock, Jan Bert Gramsbergen, Ove Wiborg, Bente Finsen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Introduction: Treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors has been suggested to mitigate amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology in Alzheimer's disease, in addition to an antidepressant mechanism of action.

Methods: We investigated whether chronic treatment with paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, mitigates Aβ pathology in plaque-bearing double-transgenic amyloid precursor protein (APP)swe/presenilin 1 (PS1)ΔE9 mutants. In addition, we addressed whether serotonin depletion affects Aβ pathology. Treatments were assessed by measurement of serotonin transporter occupancy and high-performance liquid chromatography. The effect of paroxetine on Aβ pathology was evaluated by stereological plaque load estimation and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, paroxetine therapy did not mitigate Aβ pathology, and depletion of brain serotonin did not exacerbate Aβ pathology. However, chronic paroxetine therapy increased mortality in APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice.

Discussion: Our results question the ability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor therapy to ameliorate established Aβ pathology. The severe adverse effect of paroxetine may discourage its use for disease-modifying purposes in Alzheimer's disease.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAlzheimer's & Dementia
Volume4
Pages (from-to)215-223
Number of pages9
ISSN1552-5260
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Autoradiography
  • Cerebral amyloidosis
  • Monoamine
  • Neocortex
  • SERT occupancy
  • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
  • Serotonin
  • Stereology
  • Transgenic mouse model
  • [ H]DASB

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