Objective:The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible protective effect of donepezil, memantine and alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA) combined therapy in the scopolamine-induced amnesia rat model.
Methods:In this study, the effect of combined therapy used in the treatment of scopolamine-induced amnesia on behavioural parameters was evaluated using Y-maze and new object recognition (NOR) test. In addition, muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype M1, N-methyl-Daspartate receptor NR2B subunit, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and mitochondrial apoptosis-related proteins [B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) / Bcl-2 associated X (Bax) ratio, caspase (casp) -3, and -9] expression levels were evaluated using the western blot method in the frontal cortex and hippocampus regions.
Results:The main findings of this study demonstrated that in scopolamine-induced amnesia rats, cognitive dysfunction determined by both the Y-maze and the NOR test were reversed with the combined treatment of memantine, donepezil and α-LA. According to immunoblotting results in both brain regions, scopolamine-induced decreased M1, BDNF, Bcl-2 / Bax ratio and increased NR2B, casp-3 and -9 expression levels were found to be reversed to almost control values with combined treatment.
Conclusion:Consistent with the literature, our study results suggest that the positive contribution of α-LA to the combined treatment of donepezil and memantine, which is used in the routine treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, may be a treatment option in the future.
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