title: Oral choline alfoscerate counteracts age-dependent loss of mossy fibres in the rat hippocampus.
abstract: Mossy fibres represent a major intrahippocampal associative pathway. They consist of axons of granule cells of the dentate gyrus and show an age-dependent loss as do the granule cells of the dentate gyrus. The present study was designed to assess whether long-term treatment of rats with choline alfoscerate in their drinking water would be effective in countering the loss of mossy fibres and of granule cells occurring with aging. Choline alfoscerate is a precursor in the biosynthesis of brain phospholipids and increases the bioavailability of choline in nervous tissue. Male Sprague-Dawley rats of 18 months of age were divided into two groups. One group received a daily dose of 100 mg/kg choline alfoscerate for 6 months; the other group was used as an untreated control. Twelve-month-old untreated animals were used as a reference group. The area occupied by mossy fibres, as well as their density, was significantly reduced in 24-month-old control rats in comparison with 12-month-old rats. The same is true for the density granule cells of the dentate gyrus which was decreased by about 20% in the oldest animals. In choline alfoscerate-treated rats both the area occupied by mossy fibres and their density were significantly higher than in age-matched controls. Moreover, the number of granule neurons of the hippocampus was higher by about 7% in choline alfoscerate-treated than in control 24-month-old rats. The above data suggest that choline alfoscerate treatment counteracts some anatomical changes of the rat hippocampus occurring in old age.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Cardiovascolari e Respiratorie, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bronzetti
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amenta
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D005997:Glycerylphosphorylcholine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D005997:Glycerylphosphorylcholine