TITLE:
Behaviour and Degenerative Changes in the Basal Forebrain Systems of Aged Rats (12 Months Old) after Levo-Acetyl-Carnitine Treatments
AUTHORS:
Roberta Freddi, Piergiorgio Duca, Maurizio Mariotti, Ivana Gritti
KEYWORDS:
Acetyl-L-Carnitine-HCl; Ageing; Choline Acetyltransferase Neurons; Substantia Innominata; Morris Maze-Water Task
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.2 No.1,
February
29,
2012
ABSTRACT: One group of six male control rats [12 months old] and one group of six male rats of the same age, singularly maintained in a cage, and treated with acetyl-L-carnitine-HCl [(gamma-trimethyl-beta-acetyl-butyrobetaine-HCl: Sigma-Tau code ST200 or ALCAR: 60 mg/kg/day[7]/po)] for six months were tested in the spatial learning/memory Morris mazewater task and for atrophy and cell loss in seven myelo- and cytostructurally defined basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic regions [Freddi et al., 2009]. Coronal sections 25 ?m thick were cut through the BF regions and processed every 200 ?m for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunohistochemistry. The ALCAR-treated rats had significantly shorter exit times on the Morris maze-water task test than the control rats (average ± SD 28.3 ± 12.4 s vs. 61.16 ± 4.67 s; t = 6.07, DOF = 10, P = 0.0001). Degenerative morphological changes in the BF ChAT-positive cells were observed in the substantia innominata pars anterior of the control rats but not in the treated animals (P