Amanda Eskelund

Aarhus University | AU · Department of Clinical Medicine

Behavioral animal experimentation is an inseparable part of research trying to understand the biological underpinnings of human behavior, diseases and disorders. Working with animals comes with great responsibility to achieve reliable and reproducible results of highest scientific quality. In a simple step-by-step fashion, we highlight some common...

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating compound extracted from Cannabis sativa, showing antidepressant-like effects in different rodent models. However, inconsistent results have been described depending on the species and the strain used to assess depressive-like behavior. Moreover, only a few studies investigated the effect of CBD in female rode...

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating compound extracted from Cannabis sativa, showing antidepressant-like effects in different rodent models. However, inconsistent results have been described depending on the species and the strain used to assess depressive-like behaviour. Moreover, only a few studies have investigated the effect of CBD in femal...

Background P2X7 receptors (P2X7R) are ligand-gated ion channels activated by adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP), which are involved in processes that are dysfunctional in stress response and depression, such as neurotransmitter release, and neuroimmune response. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the P2X7R induce antidepressant-like effects in...

Significant limitations with the currently available antidepressant treatment strategies have inspired research on finding new and more efficient drugs to treat depression. Cannabidiol (CBD)is a non-psychotomimetic component of Cannabis sativa, and emerges in this regard as a promising compound. In 2010, we were the first laboratory to demonstrate...

Toxoplasma gondii (TOX) is a common parasite which infects approximately one third of the human population. In recent years, it has been suggested that latent toxoplasmosis may be a risk factor for the development of mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia and anxiety. With regards to depression the results have been varied. The main objective...

The health consequences of maternal obesity during pregnancy are disturbing as they may contribute to mental disorders in subsequent generations. We examine the influence of suboptimal grandmaternal diet on potential metabolic and mental health outcome of grand-progenies with a high-fat diet (HFD) manipulation in adulthood in a rat HFD model. Grand...

Beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acid intake on cognition are under debate as some studies show beneficial effects while others show no effects of omega-3 supplementation. These inconsistencies may be a result of inter-individual response variations, potentially caused by gene and diet interactions. SorLA is a multifunctional receptor involved i...

Supporting Information Figure 1. Experimental design. Animals were allowed to acclimatize for 2 weeks (week −2 to week 0) before the start of the intervention (probiotics/vehicle) from week 0 to week 10. Behavioral tests were conducted from week 6 to week 9. After 10 weeks of intervention, animals were euthanized and tissue was collected. CFU, colo...

SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 1. Main nutritional values and composition of nutrients directly related to one‐carbon metabolism in the standard diet (Altromin 1324) SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 2. Biosamples collected from the rats; storage and extraction conditions and markers measured in each tissue matrix. SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 3. Performance of the methods used in the...

Scope: Probiotics may influence one-carbon (C1) metabolism, neurotransmitters, liver function markers, or behavior. Methods and results: Male adult Flinders Sensitive Line rats (model of depression, FSL; n = 22) received Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 (109or 1010colony-forming units/d) or vehicle for 10 weeks. Th...

The metabolism of tryptophan through kynurenine and serotonin pathways is linked to depression. Here, effects of different drugs with antidepressant properties (vortioxetine, fluoxetine, and ketamine) on various tryptophan metabolites in different brain regions and plasma were examined using tandem mass spectrometry ( LC ‐ MS / MS ), in Flinders Se...

Clinical studies suggest a link between depression and dysfunctional tryptophan metabolism. Even though depression is twice as prevalent in women as men, the impact of the estrous cycle on tryptophan metabolism is not well-understood. Here we investigated 13 kynurenine and serotonin metabolites in female Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats, a geneti...

Antidepressants impact kynurenine metabolism differently: A comparative study of vortioxetine, fluoxetine and ketamine in rats Amanda Eskelund, David P Budac, Connie Sanchez, Betina Elfving, Gregers Wegener 1Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University, Risskov, Denmark. 2Lundbeck Research US, Paramus, NJ, USA. The pathophysiology under...

Immunotherapy with the cytokine interferon-alpha (IFN-α) can induce symptoms of depression, and it is likely that the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway may be involved in this regard. In this study we investigated the effects of IFN-α on depression-like behaviour and central metabolites of the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway in rats. Secondly, we explore...

Neuropsychiatric symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (NP-SLE) have been understudied compared to end-organ failure and peripheral pathology. Neuropsychiatric symptoms, particularly affective and cognitive indications, may be among the earliest manifestations of SLE. Among the potential pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for NP-SLE are i...