Materials and Method: Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion was induced by permanent ligation of both common carotid arteries. Animals (a total of 30 adult female Wistar Albino rats, 4-6 months old) were randomly divided into three groups: sham control, ischemia, and ischemia plus daily curcumin treatment (100 mg/kg) for 14 days. At day 14 after the ligation, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents of brain tissues were measured in all groups.
Results: Ischemia caused a significant increase in MDA content but a meaningful decrease in GSH levels. Treatment with curcumin, however, lowered MDA and elevated GSH contents significantly in ischemic brain tissue, bringing their levels back to that of the sham group.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that curcumin attenuates both oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, which is an animal model of vascular dementia. Following further in depth investigations into underlying molecular mechanism(s), we believe that therapeutic efficacy of curcumin deserves to be tested for potential clinical application especially in postmenopausal elderly women suffering from vascular dementia.
Keywords : Curcumin; Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion; Oxidative stres