The Role of Estrogen in the Neurodegenerative Disorder Alzheimer’s in the Female Rat.

Crump, Alexis

The Role of Estrogen in the Neurodegenerative Disorder Alzheimer’s in the Female Rat.

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/41572

Author(s)

Crump, Alexis

Date Issued

April 4, 2016

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major neurodegenerative disorder that affects many people worldwide. There are many reported causes of this disease such as, genetic or environmental. Women are disproportionately affected by AD than men, indicating that the absence of estradiol might play a role in this disease. Recent studies have found that the primary sex steroid hormones, especially estradiol, play a larger role than initially believed in the etiology and progression of AD. This study examines the possibility of estradiol as a potential treatment for AD in female rats. A total of 7 female Sprague Dawley rats age ranging from 12-18 months were used. Subjects were food deprived for 10 hours; latency and errors to completion of the maze were recorded. Five trials per day per subject were performed to collect data for both baseline and treatment doses of estradiol. Two doses of estradiol were used, a low dose 28.0 and a high dose 56.0 (mg/kg).The major finding of this study is that following 4 days of estradiol administration performance of the subjects in the Triple T-Maze most closely resembled those before the Alzheimer’s like state was induced. Kainic acid 25.0 (ng/ml) was injected into the dorsal hippocampus to induce a condition similar to Alzheimer’s.

Major

Psychology

First Reader(s)

Clark, Rodney D.