The Effect of Apocynin on Motor and Cognitive Functions in Experimental Alzheimer’s disease

Scope: We investigated the potential beneficial effect of Apocynin (APO) on motor and cognitive functions in experimental Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Materials and Methods: Experimental AD was induced in rats by intraventricular streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Sham group received artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both groups were randomly divided into two subgroups. One of the subgroups received intraperitoneal APO for while the other had normal saline (NS). The animals were evaluated with rotarod, accelerod and Water-Maze tests before and after the treatment. Additionally, biochemical markers of oxidative stress such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were analyzed from brain specimens. Standard histological evaluation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate the neural damage. Results: The difference between STZ+NS in comparison with CSF+NS, CSF+APO and STZ+APO were statistically significant on 30 and 40 rpm on rotarod test. GSH levels, accelerod and Water-Maze test results were not statistically significant between subgroups. However, MDA differences between STZ+NS in comparison with CSF+NS, CSF+APO and STZ+APO were statistically significant. Hemotoxilene eozine staining and TEM results showed apocynins protective effect. Conclusion: These results indicate that APO can provide neuro-protective effect for motor but not for cognitive performance in experimental AD.   Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Streptozotocin, Apocynin, Rotarod test, Accelerod test, Water-Maze test