Background
and Aim
: Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. It is characterized
as a multifaced disorder with a greater genetic contribution. The
contribution of many genes such as
BDNF
,
Sirtuin 6
, and
Seladin 1
has been reported
in the pathogenesis of AD. Current therapies include acetylcholinesterase
inhibitors and
N
-methyl-
d
-aspartate receptor
antagonists, which are only temporarily beneficial. Therefore, it
seems that more studies should be conducted to determine the exact
mechanisms of drugs to deal with the diseases’ multifactorial
features that we face.
Methods
: In this study, 42 adult
rats were randomly divided into 7 groups and received drugs intraperitoneally
and orally according to the protocol as follows: scopolamine group,
clavulanic acid group, memantine group, scopolamine + memantine group,
clavulanic acid pre- and post-treatment, and normal saline group.
The Morris water maze method was performed to evaluate the spatial
memory of animals, and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP
nick end labeling assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction were
performed to study neuronal cell apoptosis and gene expression, respectively.
Results
: Significant differences were observed in the spatial
memory of rats that received clavulanic acid prophylactically compared
to the Alzheimer’s model on the day of the test. Moreover,
the results obtained during the training showed that both memantine
and clavulanic acid improved spatial memory by increasing the time
of rats present in the platform position and by reducing the swimming
time in the scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s group. Besides,
rats that received clavulanic acid and memantine had a greater percentage
of healthy cells in comparison with the scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s
group; however, the results were more significant for clavulanic acid.
Furthermore, the expressions of
BDNF
,
Seladin
1
, and
Sirtuin 6
as neuroprotective target
genes were modified after clavulanic acid and memantine administrations;
similarly, the results obtained from clavulanic acid were more significant.
Conclusion
: The results show that the administration of clavulanic
acid before and after the use of scopolamine can reduce the percentage
of apoptotic cells in the hippocampus and also improve the parameters
related to learning and spatial memory; however, its effect in the
prophylactic state was stronger. The results obtained from memantine
revealed that it has neuroprotective potency against AD; however,
clavulanic acid had a greater effect. Also, with increased expression
of the neuroprotective genes, clavulanic acid could be considered
as an option in the upcoming preclinical and clinical research about
Alzheimer’s disease.
Introduction: Klotho allele status is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension. Objectives: To determine if serum klotho level was lower among diabetic and hypertensive patients compared to control group. Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 90 participants. Thirty pure diabetic patients and 30 participants with pure hypertension were compared with the healthy control group. Multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the association between serum klotho and diabetes and hypertension. We also tested the cut off point of serum klotho to predict hypertension and diabetes by using ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve. Results: The level of serum klotho was significantly lower in diabetic and hypertensive patients. Participants with higher klotho were less likely to have diabetes and hypertension [OR: 0.48, 95% CI (0.22-0.81)] even after adjustment for covariates. ROC curve for diabetes and hypertension indicated 0.8 area under the curve which was statistically significant. Conclusion: This study found that serum klotho was associated with lower odds of diabetes and hypertension. Further longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm this finding.
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