title: Glycyrrhizic Acid Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment in a Rat Model of Vascular Dementia Associated with Oxidative Damage and Inhibition of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels.
abstract: Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most common cause of cognitive impairment in the elderly population. Our study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effects of glycyrrhizic acid (GA), a major active constituent of Glycyrrhiza glabra root, in a VD rat model induced by permanent occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries. Spatial cognitive function was examined by the Morris water maze test and synaptic plasticity was explored by assessing long-term potentiation. The results showed that GA (20 mg/kg for 5 days) significantly improved the performance of learning and memory of VD rats in the Morris water maze test and attenuated induction of long-term potentiation. Histopathological studies showed that GA significantly attenuated cell damage in VD rats. Malondialdehyde levels and superoxide dismutase activity were analyzed in the hippocampus and cortex to investigate anti-oxidant status. The results showed that GA decreased the level of lipid peroxidation and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase in VD rats. Lastly, whole-cell patch-clamp analysis was used to examine the effect of GA on voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. GA (10, 20 and 50 μM) inhibited the current amplitude of the VGSCs. These results suggest that the neuroprotective e.ects of GA in VD rats relate to the reduction of oxidative stress and inhibition of VGSCs. Our study provides experimental evidence for the application of GA in the treatment of cognitive deficits induced by Alzheimer's disease, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.
authors.affiliation: School of Precision Instrument and Opto-Electronics Engineering,Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China|Department of Neurology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, PR China, 300192
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China, 300071
authors.forename: Chunxiao
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Precision Instrument and Opto-Electronics Engineering,Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
authors.forename: Jiajia
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, PR China, 300192
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase