Cerebrolysin reverses hippocampal neural atrophy in a mice model of diabetes mellitus type 1.

The animal model of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) is used to study neuronal and behavioral changes produced by an increase in blood-glucose levels. Our previous report showed that chronic streptozotocin administration induced atrophy of dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons of the CA1 dorsal hippocampus. In addition, we showed that Cerebrolysin (Cbl), a neurotrophic peptide mixture, reduces the dendritic atrophy in animal models of aging. This study aimed to determine whether Cbl was capable of reducing behavioral and neuronal alterations, after 6 weeks of hyperglycemia in mice (streptozotocin-induced DM1). The levels of glucose in the blood were evaluated before and after streptozotocin administration and only animals with more than 240 mg/dL of blood-levels of glucose were used. After streptozotocin treatment, the mice received 6 weeks of Cbl, locomotor activity was measured and dendritic morphological changes were evaluated using Golgi-Cox stain procedure, and analyzed by the Sholl method. In mice treated with streptozotocin there was a clear reduction in the dendritic length of pyramidal neurons of the CA1 and granular cells of the dental gyrus of the dorsal hippocampus. Interestingly, Cbl reversed the morphological changes induced by streptozotocin. Our results extend the list of abnormal morphological changes detected in this model of DM, and support the possibility that Cbl may have beneficial effects in the management of brain alterations induced by DM.