1. Fatemeh Delrobaei¹, Dr. Mohammad Allahtavakoli ¹’²*
Metformin attenuates cognitive impairment and anxiety in ovariectomized mice
Fatemeh Delrobaei¹, Dr. Mohammad Allahtavakoli ¹’²*
1. Physiology-Pharmacology Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
Objectives
Estrogen regulates many processes in the brain such as synaptic formation, learning, and memory. Empirical evidence shows that there is a correlation among menopause, memory impairment, and anxiety due to Estrogen deficiency.
Regarding the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory property of Metformin (Met), the present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Met on tactile learning and anxiety in ovariectomized (OVX) mice.
Figure 2. The effect of Met on Open Arm Entries in OVX mice. Values are expressed as Mean±SEM (n=8 in each group).***p<0.001 compared to the OVX group via Tukey test.
Results
Our findings showed that Met prevented from the deleterious effects of ovariectomy on learning memory (7 and 15 mg/kg). We also found the improvement in anxiety by increasesing Open Arm Time (%OAT) and Open Arm Entries (%OAE) in OVX animals treated with Met at the both doses compred to the OVX group.
Figure 3. The effect of Met on locomotor activity in OVX mice. Values are expressed as Mean±SEM (n=8 in each group).
Methods
Figure 4. The effect of Met on tactile learning in OVX mice. Values are expressed as Mean±SEM (n=8 in each group). *p<0.05 and ***p<0.001 compared to the OVX group via LSD test.
For this purpose, Met (7 and 15 mg/kg/p.o.), was administrated daily in OVX mice for 21 days. Tactile learning and anxiety like-behavior were evaluated by novel object recognition task and Elevated Plus-maze, respectively.
Conclusions
Figure 1. The effect of Met on Open Arm Time in OVX mice. Values are expressed as Mean±SEM (n=8 in each group). *p<0.05 and **p<0.01 compared to the OVX group via Tukey test.
Collectively, the results of present study suggest that Met is an convenient choice in menopause for amelioration of memory dysfunction.