Abstract
Areca nut (AN) was identified as carcinogenic to humans. Around 600 million people globally use AN in some form, yet no effective therapeutic drug is available to overcome AN addiction. This preclinical study examines the effects of antidepressants on AN use with animal models. We produced AN powder and dissolved it into drinking water, training 55 C57BL/6 mice in free self-selection to drink AN water or normal water. Then, the mice were randomly divided into four groups. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were given as three treatment groups and one placebo group for four weeks. In the follow-up period, the preference and amount of free selection of AN and normal water, and oral pathological change were evaluated. There was a significant decrease in preference for AN drinking during the first four weeks, and the 36th week after drug withdrawal in the MAOI and SSRI groups (all p < 0.05). The drug-reducing effect of AN water in the 1–4-week period was significant in the MAOI group (p < 0.0001) and was also significant in the 3–4-week period in the SSRI group (p = 0.03). The TCA group did not show a decrease effect. At the endpoint (60 weeks), oral mucosal fibrosis (OSF) levels and risk in the SSRI (p = 0.0081) and MAOI (p = 0.01) groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. Antidepressant drugs MAOIs and SSRIs could reduce the amount of AN use and decrease the early stage of oral fibrosis in mice, but SSRIs may need to be boosted again.
Highlights
Environment-Omics-Diseases Research Centre, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708
After adaptive feed for 4 weeks, the mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) treatment groups, and the placebo group (AN water)
3 or 1.5 μm sections were stained with hematoxylineosin and (H&E)(H&E)
Summary
Betel-quid (BQ) chewing is common in South and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that, currently, 10% of the global population or nearly 600 million individuals regularly chew BQ [1,2]. The one-year prevalence of dependence was 2.8–39.2% among the six Asian populations, and 20.9–99.6% of BQ chewers were BQ-dependent [6]. They found that people who chewed BQ had high prevalence rates of OPMD, especially if they were dependent users [21,22,23]. Several studies suggested that BQ chewers using tobacco or lime are less likely to quit BQ consumption [27,28]. Our previous study suggested that antidepressant use is associated with reduced risk of OC [29]. In this study, we used animal models to examine the effect of antidepressants on decreasing BQ consumption and reducing OC risk
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