The reversal effect of mefenamic acid in the sporadic model of Alzheimer's disease in rat: a behavioral analysis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease causing progressive impairment of memory and cognitive function. Streptozotocin (STZ) injection into the brain is known to cause cognitive impairment in rats and is similar to sporadic AD in humans. Several lines of evidence have indicated that an inflammatory process contributes to the pathology of AD. On the basis of the results of epidemiological studies, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are currently considered to be the most promising approach for anti-inflammatory treatment of AD. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of mefenamic acid after intracerebroventricular (i.c.v) administration of STZ on learning and memory in adult rats in passive avoidance task. The results showed that i.c.v. injection of STZ decrease step through latency (STL) on the passive avoidance test as compared to control group. The intraperitoneal administration of mefenamic acid (30 mg/Kg body weight, daily) before training trial for 10 days significantly increased STL. These results showed that i.c.v. administration of STZ is able to make a model of Alzheimer’s disease without affecting animal’s motor activity. In addition, the treatment with mefenamic acid could improve the impaired acquisition and/or consolidation of passive avoidance learning.