Volume No : (2016) Volume: 04 Issue : 24 Year : 2016 Page No: 732-742
Authors : Shivreet Kaur, Puneet Kumar, Rahul Deshmukh
Abstract :
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder and generally associated with certain psychiatric comorbidities. Among several comorbidities depressive behavior and cognitive impairment has been reported to be most debilitating comorbidity associated with epilepsy. The present study has been undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic role of Vinpocetine in epilepsy induced comorbid depression and cognitive dysfunction in Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) kindled rats. The experimental protocol comprised of five groups (n = 8), where a sub convulsive dose of PTZ (30 mg/kg, i.p.) had been administered on every alternate day for a period of 23 days and seizure episodes were noted after each PTZ injection over a period of 30 min. Treatment groups received Vinpocetine (5, 10 and 20mg/kg) from day 1st to 31st day. Memory and Cognitive impairment was assessed using Morris water maze and object recognition task and depression was assessed using tail suspension test. While the oxidative stress parameters Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and nitrite levels were estimated in the whole brain. The PTZ administration in rats produced significant impairment in learning and memory in Morris water maze (MWM) and object recognition task (ORT) and depression in tail suspension test (TST). Biochemically significant elevation of MDA, nitrite levels and depletion of GSH levels were observed in PTZ-kindled rats. Chronic administration of Vinpocetine attenuated PTZ-induced learning and memory deficit as evidence in MWM and ORT and produced antidepressant effect as observed in TST. Moreover, Vinpocetine was also significantly attenuated PTZ-induced oxidative stress. Our results suggest important role of Vinpocetine in the therapeutic management of epilepsy and associated comorbid conditions.
Full Text PDF