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Background: Alzheimer is a neurodegenerative disease wich caused memory impairment, reduced cognitive functions, intellectual ability and behavior changes. In this study, the effect of Nacetyl- cysteine (NAC) as a strong antioxidant on memory deficiency and number of CA1 pyramidal neurons in Streptozotocine (STZ) - induced Alzheimeric rats were studied. Materials and Methods: 32 Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham group, streptozotocin group, treated group with streptozotocin plus N-acetyl-cysteine, and treated group with Nacetyl- cysteine alone. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of STZ was done in the first and the third day of surgery and i.p injection of N-acetyl-cysteine was done in the fourth of surgery. After the memory test, the animals were killed and their brains were fixed and density of intact neurons in the CA1 area of the hippocampus was investigated. Statistical analysis was performed with software SPSS, ANOVA and Prisme software. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The ICV injections of STZ significantly reduced memory retention and intact pyramidal cells compared to the sham group (p<0.001). Administration of N-acetyl-cysteine improved STZ-induced effects on memory retrieval and increased intact neurons in hippocampal CA1 area compared to the STZ group (p<0.001). N-acetyl-cysteine alone doesn't have any significant effect on memory retrieval and the number of intact neurons in hippocampal CA1 area compared to the sham group (p>0.05). Conclusion: N-acetyl-cysteine improved memory retrieval and hippocampal CA1 area intact neurons in streptozotocin-induced Alzheimeric male rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pain is a protective process in the body. There are different pathways for pain control in the central nervous system. Descending pain control system is one of pathways. The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a structure known for its role in pain transmission and modulation. The aim of this study is to investigate the percent of interaction between the left and right PAG in unilateral left foot induced pain. Materials and Methods: In this study, 60 rats (280+30g) in six groups were used (3test groups and 3 controls groups). In test groups, 0.5 microliter lidocaine was injected in the left PAG, right PAG or both to make local anesthesia. In control groups, 0.5 microliter of normal saline were injected. After 15 minutes, 50 microliter of 2.5% of formalin were injected subcutaneously to right hind paw of rats and nociception was detected in every 15 seconds for one hour . Results: The induction of unilateral pain (left hind paw) in rats, can affect not only the ipsilateral but also the contralateral PAG nucleus. Conclusion: This study showed that the left and right PAG nuclei have significant role on unidirectional nociception in formalin test in rats. The contralateral PAG, however, has a minor effect on nociception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]