Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia

Biography

Biography: Azza A Ali

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized clinically by memory impairment and other cognitive problems. Caff eine and nicotine are the most commonly co-used psychostimulants. Caff eine is one of the major contributors to the dietary antioxidants which prevent oxidative damage and may reduce the risk of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Nicotine has the ability to decrease level of ROS in the hippocampus and suggested to attenuate the impairment of memory associated with AD. Th e purpose of the study was to evaluate the infl uence of caff eine and nicotine co-administration against aluminium-induced AD in rats. Five groups of rats were used and received daily for fi ve weeks: Saline for control group, ALCl3 (70mg/kg, IP) for AD group, while treated groups received together with ALCl3, either Caff eine (5mg/kg, IP), Nicotine (1mg/kg, SC) or both Caff eine and Nicotine. Th ree behavioral experiments were performed: Forced swimming test, Morris water maze task and Conditioned-avoidance and learning test. Histopathological changes in the brain and biochemical changes in Acetyl cholinesterase (ACHE) as well as oxidative parameters; (MDA, SOD, TAC) were also evaluated for all groups. Results of the behavioral tests showed that caff eine and nicotine co-administration had more pronounced protecting eff ect from learning and memory impairment induced by ALCL3 than each one alone. Th ey signifi cantly increased both swimming and climbing score as well as time spent in the correct quadrant, while signifi cantly decrease number of learning trials. Caff eine and nicotine co-administration also prevent neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus and the eosinophilic plagues in the striatum induced by ALCL3 while nicotine alone still showed mild gliosis in striatum. Th e marked protection of caff eine and nicotine co-administration confi rmed also by the signifi cant increase in TAC and SOD and decrease in MDA and ACHE in brain tissue. In conclusion, co-administration of caff eine and nicotine can reduce the risk of neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus and attenuate the impairment of learning and memory associated with AD.