Depletion of hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin neurons correlates with impaired memory in a Parkinson's disease animal model.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive and chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and affects multiple neurotransmission systems such as hypocretin/orexin (HO) release and can lead to cognitive and memory deficits. The HO neurons located in lateral hypothalamus/perifornical area (LH/PeF) are involved with consolidation and memory processes. Here we verified the involvement of HO deficit in learning and memory process in an animal model of PD induced by bilateral intra-striatal injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The present study performed a working memory test by object recognition task and spatial memory test using the Morris water maze in control and PD-induced animals after depletion of HO neurons. In addition, our results indicate that HO system in degenerative disorders such as PD may modulate the declarative and spatial memory (assessed by object recognition and Morris water maze tests, respectively). A significant reduction of HO neurons in the LH/PeF and HO degeneration process in the hippocampus (CA1 and dentate gyrus areas) were noticed. Our data suggest that the HO system degeneration could be associated to memory dysfunction in PD.

Quantitative EEG analysis disease during resting and memory task in carriers and non-carriers of PS-1 E280A mutation of familial Alzheimer's / Análisis del EEG cuantitativo durante tareas de memoria y reposo en portadores y no portadores de la mutación PS-1 E280A de la enfermedad de Alzheimer

ABSTRACT Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most leading cause of dementia in the world; the mutation PS-1 E280A alters the gene of the Presenilin-1 and causes an early onset familial Alzheimer's disease. This mutation has been found in large kindred of Antioquia, Colombia. The objective of this study was to find differences revealed by electroencephalogram between healthy subjects and asymptomatic carriers that can be used as clinical markers of the disease in this population. Methods: EEG was recorded in 15 asymptomatic E280A carriers and 15 healthy non carriers during resting and a memory task using 64 channels amplifier. Two conditions in the memory task were analyzed: encoding and retrieval, the process of recording and evocating information, respectively. Power spectrum was calculated in delta (0. 5-4. 0 Hz), theta (4. 0-8. 0 Hz), alpha-1 (8. 0-10. 0 Hz), alpha-2 (10. 0-13. 0 Hz), beta (13. 0-25. 0 Hz) and gamma (25. 0-50 Hz) frequency bands for four regions of interest. Changes were evaluated in different conditions by ANOVA analysis.. Results: In resting condition a significant decrease was found in theta (p=0. 0001) and an increase in alpha-2 frequencies (p=0.037) in carriers compare with controls. During encoding of the memory task theta was significantly lower in carriers compared with controls (p=0. 008) and comparing resting versus retrieval process for each group, there was more theta synchronization in carriers. Conclusions: Early changes in theta frequencies were observed in the EEG recordings, it could be use as clinical markers in this population. Also it seems carriers activate additional cortical regions in order to conserve successful cognitive functions before clinical impairment.

RESUMEN Introducción: la enfermedad de Alzheimer es la principal causa de demencia en el mundo; la mutación PS-1 E280A altera el gen presenilin-1 y causa una variante familiar de la enfermedad que se caracteriza por una aparición temprana. La mutación se ha descubierto en un grupo de familias de Antioquia, Colombia. El objetivo de este estudio fue encontrar diferencias, a partir de registros electroencefalográficos de personas portadores de la mutación en una etapa asintomática y sujetos sanos para evaluar si pueden ser utilizadas como un marcador temprano de la enfermedad en la población portadora de la mutación. Metodología: se realizaron registros EEG en 15 portadores asintomáticos de la mutación E280A y 15 personas sanas no portadoras durante una tarea de memoria y en reposo utilizando un amplificador de 64 canales. En la tarea de memoria se evaluaron dos condiciones: codificación y evocación; el proceso de memorizar y recuperar la información, respectivamente. La potencia espectral fue calculada en las bandas de frecuencia delta (0,5-4,0 Hz), teta (4,0-8,0 Hz), alfa-1 (8,0-10,0 Hz), alfa-2 (10,0-13,0 Hz), beta (13,0-25,0 Hz) y gamma (25,0-50 Hz) para cuatro regiones de interés. Los cambios del espectro fueron evaluados por análisis de varianza ANOVA. Resultados: bajo la condición de reposo se encontró una disminución importante en la potencia de la banda teta (p=0,0001) y un incremento en la banda alfa-2 (p=0,037) en portadores comparados con controles. Durante la tarea de codificación, los portadores mostraron una disminución significativa en la banda teta (p=0,008). Al comparar reposo contra memoria de evocación se encontró una mayor sincronización en teta en los portadores de la mutación. Conclusión: se encontraron cambios tempranos de la potencia en la banda teta que pueden ser utilizados como un marcador clínico de la enfermedad en esta población. Una hipótesis adicional basada en los resultados es que los portadores necesitan ...