Protective effect of melatonin against head trauma-induced hippocampal damage and spatial memory deficits in immature rats.
It is well known that head trauma induces the cognitive dysfunction resulted from hippocampal damage. In the present study, we aimed to demonstrate the effect of melatonin on hippocampal damage and spatial memory deficits in 7-day-old rat pups subjected to contusion injury. Melatonin was injected intraperitoneally at the doses of 5 or 20 mg/kg of body weight immediately after induction of traumatic injury. Hippocampal damage was examined by cresyl violet staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Spatial memory performance was assessed in the Morris water maze. Melatonin significantly attenuated trauma-induced neuronal death in hippocampal CA1, CA3 regions and dentate gyrus, and improved spatial memory deficits, which was equally effective at doses of 5-20 mg/kg. The present results suggest that melatonin is a highly promising agent for preventing the unfavorable outcomes of traumatic brain injury in young children.
Ozdemir
Durgul
D
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Inciralti, 35340 Izmir, Turkey.
Tugyan
Kazim
K
Uysal
Nazan
N
Sonmez
Ulker
U
Sonmez
Atac
A
Acikgoz
Osman
O
Ozdemir
Nail
N
Duman
Murat
M
Ozkan
Hasan
H
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D008550:Melatonin