Khadrawy_2026_Prog.Neuropsychopharmacol.Biol.Psychiatry_147_111753

Transcranial static magnetic field (TSMF) exposure and beta-carotene nanoparticles (beta-CAR-NPs) were evaluated for their potential antidepressant effects using the reserpine model of depression. Male Wistar rats were divided into six groups; control group, magnetic exposure group, depression model, and depression model treated with TSMF and/or beta-CAR-NPs. The effectiveness of these treatments was assessed behaviorally using the forced swimming test (FST), and neurochemically by measuring the levels of serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA), the enzyme activities of monoamine oxidase (MAO), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Na(+), K(+), ATPase, and the levels of lipid peroxidation (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in both the cortex and hippocampus. In the reserpine-treated group, the FST showed a significant reduction in the swimming time and an increase in the immobility (floating) time. This was accompanied by a significant decrease in 5-HT, NE, DA, BDNF, AChE and Na(+), K(+), ATPase and an increase in MAO in the cortex and hippocampus of depressed rats. The treatment of reserpine model with either TSMF or beta-CAR-NPs mitigated the behavioral and neurochemical changes recorded in depressed rats to a considerable extent. However, the combined treatment with TSMF and beta-CAR-NPs showed a beneficial effect in ameliorating most of the behavioral and neurochemical alterations induced by reserpine in the cortex and hippocampus of the present rat model of depression. These findings suggest that the combined application of TSMF and beta-CAR-NPs may represent a promising and effective therapeutic strategy for the management of depression.