الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a multisystem disease induces various functional and structural disturbances of the nervous system as it increases the risk of central nervous system morbidities for example stroke, dementia, and cognitive impairment. Oxidative stress and nitric oxide isoforms are involved in diabetic pathogenesis. Ferulic acid is a natural substance that is distributed broadly in plants with strong antioxidant and hypoglycemic properties. Materials and methods: Twenty-four albino male rats were randomly divided into equal four groups: control group, group 2 received ferulic acid orally (10 mg/kg), group 3 diabetic group, group 4 diabetic rats received ferulic acid. After 8 weeks, the left cerebellar hemisphere and left hippocampus were taken for tissue homogenate for oxidative markers and real-time PCR for NOS isoforms. Paraffin sections of the right cerebral and cerebellar hemisphere were stained with cresyl violet, Luxol fast blue and immnunohistochemically stained for neuronal NOS, inducible NOS and endothelial NOS. Results: Degenerative changes were seen in the cerebella and hippocampusof the diabetic rats with significant elevation of Malondialdehyde, Nitric Oxide, and decrease of Superoxide dismutase levels. nNOS expression decreased and iNOS expression increased significantly. The ferulic acid-treated group showed a reduction of the degenerative changes in the cerebellum with significant improvement in oxidative stress marker, an increase of nNOS expression, and a decrease of iNOS expression. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that ferulic acid improves the functional and histopathological changes of rat cerebellum and hippocampus induced by diabetes through anti-oxidative, hypoglycemic and NOS-mediated mechanisms. It can be a good candidate as an adjuvant in diabetic therapy. |