Physiological targets for the treatment of diabetic encephalopathy.
BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic degenerative disease responsible for hyperglycemic episodes through insulin secretion deficiency or cellular resistance. Clinical diagnosis in diabetic patients established that this disease affects the CNS, damaging the brain and impairing cognition, and thus establishing a clinical diabetic condition named diabetic encephalopathy. Despite the physiological mechanisms responsible for the development diabetic encephalopathy are still unclear, an excessive formation of reactive oxygen species, an alteration of acetylcholinesterase activity, and a reduction of growth factor levels, may be related with the pathogenesis of this condition. Pharmacological treatments with natural compounds have been proven useful to treat and cure a wide variety of diseases through their antioxidant actions.


METHODS
This study built a compendium of chemical compounds used for the treatment of diabetic encephalopathy demonstrating the most important physiological targets that future drugs should aim for, reviewing them.


RESULTS
As previously suspected, antioxidants and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were useful to prevent memory loss in streptozotocin-induced animals. In addition, growth factors showed an improvement of memory in diabetic rodents. Most studies focused on antioxidant compounds despite cross studies researched both antioxidants and acetylcholinesterase activities.


CONCLUSIONS
Therefore, it could be suggested that future studies regarding treatments for diabetic encephalopathy should focus on the antioxidant profile and acetylcholinesterase, since they seem to play pivotal roles in cognitive impairment in diabetes. No less important, studies with growth factors are also important physiological targets for treating the diabetic encephalopathy.
Ceara State University Av. Dr. Silas Munguba, 1700, Campus do Itaperi, Fortaleza-CE. l.limavieira@yahoo.com.br.
Lucas Lima
LL
Vieira
Rafaela Gomes
RG
de Lima Soares
Stela Mirla
SM
da Silva Felipe
Felipe Carmo
FC
de Moura
Gerly Anne
GA
de Castro Brito
Christina
C
Pacheco
Paula Matias
PM
Soares