Neuroscience bulletin
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Neuroscience bulletin · Jun 2014
Hydroxysafflor yellow A improves learning and memory in a rat model of vascular dementia by increasing VEGF and NR1 in the hippocampus.
Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) has angiogenesis-regulating and neuro-protective effects, but its effects on vascular dementia (VaD) are unknown. In this study, 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to five groups: normal, sham-operation, VaD alone (bilateral carotid artery occlusion), VaD plus saline (control), and VaD plus HSYA. One week after operation, the HSYA group received one daily tail-vein injection of 0.6 mg/100 g HSYA for two weeks. ⋯ We found that, compared with the group with VaD alone, the group with HSYA had a reduced escape latency in the water maze (P < 0.05), and the LTP at CA3-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus was enhanced (P < 0.05). Western blot in the late-phase VaD group showed slight up-regulation of VEGF and downregulation of NR1 in the hippocampus, while HSYA significantly up-regulated both VEGF and NR1. These results suggested that HSYA promotes angiogenesis and increases synaptic plasticity, thus improving spatial learning and memory in the rat model of VaD.