Abstract
Depression coexists with epilepsy, worsening its course. Treatment of the two diseases enables the possibility of interactions between antidepressant and antiepileptic drugs. The aim of this review was to analyze such interactions in one animal seizure model—the maximal electroshock (MES) in mice. Although numerous antidepressants showed an anticonvulsant action, mianserin exhibited a proconvulsant effect against electroconvulsions. In most cases, antidepressants potentiated or remained ineffective in relation to the antielectroshock action of classical antiepileptic drugs. However, mianserin and trazodone reduced the action of valproate, phenytoin, and carbamazepine against the MES test. Antiseizure drug effects were potentiated by all groups of antidepressants independently of their mechanisms of action. Therefore, other factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) modulation, should be considered as the background for the effect of drug combinations.
Highlights
It is estimated that depression affects 350 million people worldwide
Depressive disorders are diagnosed in 2% of children, 8% of teenagers, and 10% of pregnant women
The purpose of this review was to answer the question of whether antidepressant drugs can change the course of epilepsy and/or the course of antiseizure treatment
Summary
It is estimated that depression affects 350 million people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization data, it will be the most common disease in the world by 2030. Depression takes a million lives a year from suicide. Depressive disorders are diagnosed in 2% of children, 8% of teenagers, and 10% of pregnant women. It is worth emphasizing that the percentage of pharmacological antidepressant treatment is continuously increasing in these groups of patients [1]. Depression and related disorders are the most common comorbidities in epilepsy patients. The coexistence of these disease entities reaches 30% and depressive episodes have begun to be considered a marker of drug-resistant epilepsy [2]
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