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Objectives: Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of memory followed by complete dementia. Furthermore it is the commonest form of dementia affecting older people. In this study we investigated the role of agmatine (Agm) on learning and memory and on parameters of oxidative stress in intracerebroventricular (i.c.v) streptozotocin (STZ) model of Alzheimer's disease in rats. Materials and Methods: We grouped rats as: naive control, sham operated, STZ and STZ+agmatine. Rats were injected bilaterally i.c.v STZ (3mg/kg) using stereotaxic frame on day 1 and 3 to induce experimental Alzheimer's disease. After 14 days from 1st STZ injection, learning and memory impairment of rats were observed in passive avoidance. Following this test, agmatine administered intraperitoneal (i.p.) 40mg/kg twice daily for 7 days. These animals were again subjected to these behavioral tests after 7 days agmatine treatment. On the 21st day after 1st STZ injection all groups were sacrificed by decapitation and brain tissues were collected for oxidative stress measurement. Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were measured for estimation of oxidative stress. Results: In this study it has been demonstrated that i.c.v STZ in Alzheimer model can cause disorder in cognitive functions and oxidative damage. Agmatine treatment is found to be effective to prevent both cognitive deficits as well as the oxidative damage. Conclusion: According to results of the current study agmatine, as an endogenous molecule, might be an important modulator in alzheimer's etiopathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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