Sharma_2012_Psychopharmacology.(Berl)_223_307

RATIONALE Vascular dementia and hypertension are increasing day by day with a high degree of co-occurrence Tremendous amount of research work is required so that new pharmacological agents may be identified for their appropriate therapeutic utility to combat different dementing disorders OBJECTIVES This study investigates the effect of natrium diethyldithiocarbamate trihydrate NDDCT a nuclear factor kappa-B NF-kappaB inhibitor as well as lisinopril an angiotensin converting enzyme ACE inhibitor on deoxycorticosterone acetate DOCA hypertension-induced vascular dementia in rats METHODS DOCA was used to induce hypertension and associated vascular dementia Morris water maze MWM was used for testing learning and memory Endothelial function was assessed by acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of aortic strips Different biochemical estimations were used to assess oxidative stress aortic superoxide anion serum and brain thiobarbituric acid reactive species and brain glutathione nitric oxide levels serum nitrite/nitrate and cholinergic activity brain acetyl cholinesterase activity RESULTS DOCA treatment significantly raised the mean arterial blood pressure of rats and these hypertensive rats performed poorly on MWM reflecting impairment of learning and memory DOCA treatment also impaired vascular endothelial function and different biochemical parameters Treatments of NDDCT as well as lisinopril significantly attenuated DOCA hypertension-induced impairment of learning and memory endothelial dysfunction and changes in various biochemical levels CONCLUSIONS DOCA-salt hypertension induces vascular dementia in rats NF-kappaB as well as ACE inhibitors may be considered as potential pharmacological agents for the management of hypertension-induced vascular dementia.