Brief Reports should be submitted online to www.editorialmanager.com/ amsurg. (See details online under ''Instructions for Authors''.) They should be no more than 3 double-spaced pages excluding an Abstract and sub-headings with a maximum of four (4) references. If figures are included, they should be limited to two (2). The cost of printing color figures is the responsibility of the author.
Background
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurological disorder defined by progressive and irreversible neurodegeneration of the central nervous system and is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. This disease leads to a gradual decline of cognitive function manifested by memory impairment. The synaptic deregulation starts in the hippocampus and eventually leads to neuronal loss and cognitive impairment, this is mainly due to structural changes involving the accumulation of neuritic β‐amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) of the hyperphosphorylated tau protein. In addition to the neuronal injury, new evidence suggests the involvement of the arginine metabolism in AD pathogenesis with a decreased level found in AD patients’ brains. L‐arginine is a semi‐essential amino acid that can be metabolized to form a number of bioactive molecules such as nitric oxide, a gaseous signaling molecule that plays an important role in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory, and can be a key factor for the stabilization and regulation of the vascular microenvironment
Method
Hence citrulline supplementation, an arginine precursor, allowed us to study of changes in arginine (by UPLC) and NO (ny the Griess method) levels, as well as changes in cognitive decline (measured by Morris Water Maze task) in a 3xTgAD mouse model.
Result
Citrulline supplementation at 5 months of age for 3 months, improved long‐term spatial memory in male mice. We found an elevation of arginine levels in CSF from both male and female mice. Finally, we found elevated arginine and nitric oxide levels in brain tissue (hippocampus),
Conclusion
Citrulline supplementation is a viable early treatment to ameliorate cognitive decline in males from this murine model of AD.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.