Moderate Chronic Alcohol Consumption Ameliorates Diabetes Induced Cognitive Dysfunction
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Type II d iabetes mellitus (DM2) has been associated with an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia through disease processes such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. While reduced glucose tolerance has deleterious effects on memo ry in the elderly and concomitant h ippocampal atrophy. We investigated the impact of chronic intake of high and low alcohol on diabetes induced cognitive dysfunction. Adult male wistar rats were rando mly div ided into four groups of five rats each viz; GROUP 1- Normal control, were given rat pellets ad libitum; GROUP 2- Untreated d iabetic, diabetes was induced with mu ltiple dosages of allo xan per k/body weight. GROUP 3- Diabetic and low alcohol consumption, the rats in this group received mult iple dosages of allo xan (as in group 2), followed by 9% w/w alcohol daily. GROUP 4- Diabetic and high alcohol consumption, the rats received multip le dosages of alcohol (as in group 2), and 20% w/w alcohol. At the end of the four weeks , rats in all the groups were subjected to Barne's Maze test to assess their spatial memory. The rats were weighed and then euthanized by an overdose of chloroform. The skull was cut open and the brain excised and a portion of the prefrontal cortex taken and processed for the determination of so me b iochemical parameters. Sect ions of the brain were taken and processed routinely and stained with H&E. The results showed impairment of spatial memory, decrease psychomotor speed, neuronal necrosis and apparent decreased neuronal density. Fro m our findings, we concluded that diabetes significantly impaired spatial memory and decrease psychomotor speed, while chronic alcohol intake amelio rated the detrimental cognitive dysfunctional. Both diabetes and alcohol operate probably by interfering with insulin sensitivity.
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2126442101