Relationship between aging, drug treatment and the cerebral enzymatic antioxidant system.

Four different brain regions (parieto-temporal cortex, caudate-putamen, substantia nigra, and thalamus) were examined in rats aged 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 months. The following enzyme activities related to the antioxidant system were measured: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase (as total). Specific enzyme activities vary markedly with age, according to the various regions studied, indicating nonhomogenous vulnerability of different brain regions to aging. In general, both superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase tended to decline during the last half of life, while glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase tended to increase slightly with age. In rats of 10, 20, or 30 months, chronic treatment for two months with a vasodilator (papaverine) or a calcium-blocker (nicardipine) indicated that the antioxidant enzyme activities are partially influenced according to the exogenous agent used, the brain region tested, and the age of the animals.