title: Regional changes of NADPH-diaphorase and neuropeptide Y neurons in the cerebral cortex of aged Fischer 344 rats.
abstract: This study examined the effects of aging on neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive neurons of the cerebral cortex in young (3 months) and aged (24 months) Fischer 344 rats by immunohistochemical and histochemical methods. In the aged group, the number of NPY-immunoreactive (IR)/NADPH-d-positive neurons was not significantly changed in all regions of the cerebral cortex compared to the control group. However, the number of NPY-IR/NADPH-d-negative neurons was significantly decreased in frontal association, primary motor, secondary somatosensory, insular, ectorhinal, perirhinal and auditory cortex in the aged group. In the aged rats, about 5-10% of NPY-IR/NADPH-d-positive neurons were dystrophic and scattered within the cerebral cortex. These results suggested that NPY-IR neurons that do not contain NADPH-d are affected by aging and that aging influences NPY-IR/NADPH-d-negative neurons in a region-specific pattern within the cerebral cortex of rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Kohwang Medical Research Institute, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000032:analysis*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry*; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase