Differential effects of aging on NADPH-diaphorase and VIP neurons in cerebral cortex of rats.

Age-related changes of NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) were examined in the rat brain. Aged (24 months) rats showed a significant decrease in the number of VIP-immunoreactive (IR) neurons in the cerebral cortex when compared with control (4 months) rats. However, the number of NADPH-d-positive neurons was not significantly different in the two groups. Quantitative analysis of cell areas revealed a significant shrinkage of VIP-IR neurons in the aged group, whereas no further cell shrinkage was noted for NADPH-d-positive neurons compared with the control group. These morphometric results demonstrate that NADPH-d-containing neurons are more resistant to aging than the VIP-IR neurons in the cerebral cortex of rats.