بررسی اثر ان‌استیل‌سیستئین بربازخوانی حافظه و تعداد نورون‌های سالم ناحیه CA1 هیپوکامپ در رت‌های نر آلزایمری شده با استرپتوزوتوسین

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]