Fluoxetine attenuates the DL-fenfluramine-induced increase in extracellular serotonin as measured by in vivo dialysis.
Rats with hippocampal dialysis probes were treated with DL-fenfluramine (FEN), fluoxetine, or FEN with fluoxetine pre-treatment. FEN (12.5 mg/kg) increased extracellular serotonin (5-HT) from 0.4 +/- 0.04 to 25.2 +/- 4.16 pg/10 microliters. Fluoxetine (10.0 mg/kg) increased extracellular 5-HT levels from 0.4 +/- 0.05 to 2.4 +/- 0.33 pg/10 microliters. FEN-induced increases in extracellular 5-HT were attenuated by 66% with fluoxetine pre-treatment. This result supports the view that the 5-HT releasing properties of FEN are mediated by the 5-HT uptake transporter.