RESUMO
The aim of this study was to determine the protective effects of curcumin on memory, hippocampal acetylcholine level and apoptosis in a rat model of repeated cerebral ischemia. Male Wistar rats were divided into sham rats that received saline and the other 3 groups underwent 4-vessel occlusion brain ischemia (4VOI), received oral administration of either saline or curcumin at doses rate of 25mg/kg/day and 50mg/kg/day for 7 days. Memory function was evaluated by eight-arm radial maze task and Morris water maze (MWM) test, Acetylcholine release (ACh) in the dorsal hippocampus was evaluated by microdialysis-HPLC) and neuron apoptosis was investigated by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase mediated fluorescein-deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling. 4VOI test reviled impaired memory, reduced dorsal hippocampus Ach level and induced apoptosis in the Repeated Cerebral Ischemia rat model. Curcumin significantly improved the memory deficit (p<0.001), increased Ach level (p<0.001) and prevented hippocampal neuron apoptosis (p<0.001). Curcumin may be suggested as a promising therapy for ischemic cerebrovascular dementia and its beneficial effect is due to its memory preserving, ACh-increasing and neuroprotective effects in the rat.
