The Anxiolytic Effect of Remote Ischemic Pre- and Postconditioning in a Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
In this work, the anxiolytic effect of remote ischemic conditioning in the experimental model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in rats – the “stress-restress” paradigm is revealed and characterized. Three-fold 5-minute ischemia/reperfusion of the limb prevented the development of a poststress anxiety state in the PTSD model, reducing the anxiety level, locomotor and orientation research activity of animals to the control one. Remote ischemia in the preconditioning mode, i.e. before severe traumatic stress, demonstrated a greater anxiolytic effect on the behavior of rats in the open field and elevated plus maze tests compared to postconditioning after a restress. Interval ischemia in both regimens effectively prevented the occurrence of anxiety-depressive behavioral reactions and the development of model PTSD without showing undesirable side effects that are often characteristic of anxiolytic drugs. Thus, remote ischemic conditioning has a pronounced anxiolytic effect and it is a fundamentally new simple nonmedicamentous method of prevention and correction of poststress pathologies, in particular PTSD, with great research and clinical potential.