D'Intino Giulia, Paradisi Michela, Fernandez Mercedes, Giuliani Alessandro, Aloe Luigi, Giardino Luciana, Calzà Laura
Department of Veterinary Morphophysiology and Animal Production, University of Bologna, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (Bologna), Italy.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Feb 22;102(8):3070-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0500073102. Epub 2005 Feb 14.
Clinical symptoms in multiple sclerosis include cognitive dysfunction. Difficulties in learning and remembering new information represent the most common cognitive deficit and are associated with a general and progressive brain pathology. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms for neuronal damage such as neuroprotective strategies are under active investigation also in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, the most widely used experimental model for multiple sclerosis. In this paper we demonstrate that a selective deficit in learning and memory performance, as investigated by the Morris water maze test, is a consistent feature in rat encephalomyelitis, which correlates with a decline in choline acetyltransferase activity and nerve growth factor mRNA level in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and basal forebrain. Treatment aimed to restore acetylcholine content through chronic administration of selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (rivastigmine and donepezil) restores cognitive performance, choline acetyltransferase activity, and nerve growth factor mRNA expression.
多发性硬化症的临床症状包括认知功能障碍。学习和记忆新信息的困难是最常见的认知缺陷，并且与普遍的、进行性的脑病理改变相关。诸如神经保护策略等神经元损伤的可能发病机制也正在实验性变应性脑脊髓炎（多发性硬化症最广泛使用的实验模型）中进行积极研究。在本文中，我们证明，通过莫里斯水迷宫试验研究发现，学习和记忆表现的选择性缺陷是大鼠脑脊髓炎的一个一致特征，这与大脑皮层、海马体和基底前脑胆碱乙酰转移酶活性及神经生长因子mRNA水平的下降相关。旨在通过长期给予选择性乙酰胆碱酯酶抑制剂（卡巴拉汀和多奈哌齐）来恢复乙酰胆碱含量的治疗可恢复认知表现、胆碱乙酰转移酶活性及神经生长因子mRNA表达。
