Protective efficacy of alpha-lipoic acid on acetylcholinesterase activity in aged rat brain regions.

The purpose of the present investigation was to measure the activity of acetylcholinesterase in discrete regions of young and aged rat brain before and after DL-alpha-lipoic acid supplementation. Two groups of male albino rats were used in this study (4 and 24 months of age). DL-alpha-lipoic acid was administered intraperitoneally with a regimen of 100 mg/kg body weight per day using alkaline saline as a vehicle for 7 and 14 days. The activity was measured in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, striatum, hippocampus and hypothalamus, and found to be significantly decreased in some of the brain regions in aged rats. Administration of lipoic acid into aged rats reversed the decrease in the activity in the discrete brain regions. These results suggest that lipoic acid is effective in restoration of the activity of acetylcholinesterase in aged rats.