Investigation of behavioral changes and histopathological changes in the brain in alzheimer's modeled mice with aluminum chloride (ALCL3)

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and is the most common cause of dementia. Clarifying the pathophysiology of the disease, which is characterized by the accumulation of beta amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles, is very important for the prevention and treatment of the disease. For this purpose, behavioral changes and histopathological changes in the brain were investigated in the experimental Alzheimer's model created with long-term aluminum chloride intake. In the study, male and female mice receiving aluminum chloride formed the experimental group, and male and female mice receiving only tap water formed the control group. After ninety days of aluminum chloride intake, rota rot was used to evaluate the motor coordination of the mice; elevated plus maze to assess exploration, anxiety, spatial learning, and memory; passive avoidance tests were performed for emotional learning and memory determination. After the tests were finished, the mice were sacrificed and their brains were quickly placed in formaldehyde. In the experiment results, no difference was found between the groups and the genders in the rota-rot test. In the elevated plus maze test, the decrease in the time spent in the open arm and the increase in the time spent in the closed arm were statistically significant in the control group. This result shows that the anxiety levels in the experimental group decreased, and learning and memory were impaired at the same time. Looking at the difference between the sexes, it was found that the anxiety levels of female mice were higher than male mice. In the passive avoidance test, long-term memory was not impaired in the experimental group. It was thought that the reason for this was that the amount of aluminum given did not reach such a toxic level that it could impair long-term memory. In the histopathological examinations of the brain, neuron loss was observed in both the cerebral cortex and hippocampus CA1 regions in the experimental group, while an increase in pycnotic nucleated cells was observed. Neurofibrillary tangles were also observed in the hippocampus, with neurons with basophilic nuclei prominently. As a result, in this study, an experimental Alzheimer's model was created by drinking aluminum chloride water and this situation was revealed in the histopathological examinations of the brain. As a result of this model, motor coordination remained intact, behavioral changes occurred, anxiety levels decreased, learning and short-term memory were impaired. Although it is observed that their long-term memory is not impaired, new studies are needed on how it will change in the future. Key words: Alzheimer's Disease; Aluminum chloride; Learning; Memory; Behaviour