Rejuvenation Res. 2016 Apr;19(2):159-71. doi: 10.1089/rej.2015.1685. Epub 2016 Feb 2.
- 11 Laboratorio de Neurofisiología, Departamento de Biología, Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) , Palma de Mallorca, Spain .
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Laboratorio de Infección e Inmunidad, Fundación de Investigación
Sanitaria de las Islas Baleares (FISIB)-Instituto de Investigación
Sanitaria de Palma (IdISPa), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red
Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Hospital Joan March , Mallorca,
Spain .
Abstract
Limiting
enzymes in the synthesis of brain monoamines seems to be susceptible to
oxidative damage, one of the most important factors in aging. It has
been suggested that the use of anti-oxidants can reduce the rate of free
radical production related with aging and the associated damage.
Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effects of the chronic
treatments with the anti-oxidant α-tocopherol (vitamin E) on central
monoamines (high-performance liquid chromatography [HPLC] analysis)
mediating cognitive functions, as well as on the evaluation of memory
and motor abilities in old rats measured by radial maze, Barnes maze,
novel object recognition test, and rotarod test. Results show that
α-tocopherol significantly increased in a dose- and/or time-dependent
manner the synthesis rate and the levels of monoaminergic
neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline) in the
hippocampus and striatum, brain regions involved in memory processing
and motor coordination. These positive neurochemical effects, largely
due to an increased activity of the limiting enzymes in monoamines
synthesis, tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase, were
accompanied by an improvement in cognitive and motor abilities in old
rats. Altogether these findings suggest that α-tocopherol exhibits
neuroprotective actions in old rats; thus, diets with α-tocopherol might
represent a promising strategy to mitigate or delay the cognitive and
motor decline associate with aging and related-diseases.
