Effect of Vildagliptin on Cognitive Deficits in an Experimental Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is considered a pivotal risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Aluminium chloride induces hippocampal structural & functional abnormality and causes neurodegeneration. Our study evaluated the effects of vildagliptin on spatial memory, cholinergic activity, and neuronal survival in cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) region of hippocampus in an aluminium chloride-induced AD in male Wistar rats. Materials and method: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups. All animals except normal control were exposed to aluminium chloride (17 mg/kg/day) and group 3, 4 and 5 were simultaneously received rivastigmine (6 mg/kg/day), vildagliptin (5 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day) treatment respectively for 30 days. Assessment of spatial memory was followed by estimation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and quantification of neuronal cell count in CA3 region of hippocampus. Results: Vildagliptin improved spatial memory, decreased acetylcholinesterase levels, and improved neuronal count in CA3 region of hippocampus through multimodal approach. Conclusion: Vildagliptin treatment significantly attenuated aluminium chloride-induced cognitive deficits. It may serve as a promising candidate in the management of concomitant AD and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).