Dipyrone ameliorates behavioural changes induced by unpredictable chronic mild stress: gender differences.

PURPOSE: Antidepressant effects of analgesics have been investigate in both clinical and experimental studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the analgesic-antipyretic drug, dipyrone, also had antidepressant-like effects. METHODS: Depression-like effects were investigated in an unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) model in both male and female mice. Cage changes, light-dark cycle reversal, cage tilting, wet floor, empty cage, foreign material on the floor and predator sounds were used to induce light stress at different times for six weeks. Dipyrone was administered intraperitoneally beginning from the third week. Splash, rota-rod (RR) and forced swimming (FST) tests were performed at the seventh week as behavioural tests to evaluate the antidepressant-like effects of dipyrone. Coat state score (CSS) and weights of animals were recorded at seventh weeks. Results were analyzed using one or two-way ANOVA followed by the Bonferonni post hoc test. RESULTS: Weight of UCMS-exposed mice did not change compared with controls; however, significant changes were observed in CSS in both sexes of stressed mice (p.