Oct 22, 2012 - Author: Langdon KD, Granter-Button S, Harley CW, Moody-Corbett P, ... Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery, Ottawa, ON;.
Published Abstract Title: Beneficial effects of cognitive rehabilitation in a rodent model of vascular dementia Author: Langdon KD, Granter-Button S, Harley CW, Moody-Corbett P, Corbett D DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/01.str.0000422054.44193.87 Appeared in: Stroke Published: October 22, 2012 Please cite this abstract as: Langdon KD, Granter-Button S, Harley CW, Moody-Corbett P, Corbett D. (2012). Beneficial effects of cognitive rehabilitation in a rodent model of vascular dementia. Stroke, 43, e129. This is a PDF file of an unedited abstract that was published based on a poster presented at the 3rd Canadian Stroke Congress, September 29 – October 2, 2012. All abstracts were collated and published online in the journal Stroke. The final publisher version of this abstract can be viewed at the DOI provided above.
Beneficial effects of cognitive rehabilitation in a rodent model of vascular dementia Langdon, KD1,2 Granter-Button, S1 Harley, CW1 Moody-Corbett, P1 Corbett, D1,2,3 1. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL; 2. Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery, Ottawa, ON; 3. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON Background: Dementia is a major cause of morbidity in Western society. Although the etiology of dementia is likely multi-factorial, vasculopathy is thought to play a major role. Pharmacological therapies that delay dementia onset or progression are modestly successful. Additional research is needed to improve cognitive outcomes associated with this disease. We evaluated the effects of physical and cognitive activity on learning and memory in early middle-aged (~6mo) rats in a model of vascular dementia (VasD). To mimic patient co-morbidities, rats were exposed to either regular chow or a diet rich in saturated fats and sucrose. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats underwent chronic bilateral common carotid artery occlusion or sham surgery. We first validated this model of VasD using a 2 X 2 experimental design (Surgery X Diet) and standard cognitive outcomes. Next, using identical surgical procedures, we exposed animals to cognitive rehabilitation consisting of alternating days of wheel running and Hebb-Williams’ maze exposure or a sedentary condition. Results: At 16 wks post-surgery, VasD animals required significantly greater time to locate a hidden platform in the Morris water maze and spent significantly less time in the target quadrant (24h probe) than sham animals, independent of diet. These cognitive deficits were attenuated in animals that received rehabilitation. Further, rehabilitation normalized hippocampal CA1 cell size (area and volume) to that of sham animals, independent of cell number. Conclusions: A model of cognitive activity previously shown to improve learning and memory in normal rats (Langdon and Corbett, 2012) was used to assess efficacy in a model of VasD. This novel cognitive rehabilitation paradigm reduced memory deficits and resolved hippocampal CA1 architectural aberrations. Importantly, these findings demonstrate beneficial neuroplasticity in middle-aged rats that extended into cognitive domains, an area rarely explored in preclinical studies. Our paradigm has potential for adaption in treating mild cognitive impairments and dementia.
