Is hyperhomocysteinemia a risk factor for cognitive defects in rats exposed to metformin

Aim: Diabetus mellitus currently is a very wide spread metabolic disorder. Metformin from Biguanides is a commonly used agent in DM treatment with side effects like diarrhea and Vitamin B12 deficiency. Aim of the study was to investigate Metformin's side effect, causing vitamin B12 deficiency on diabetic rats. Furthermore, it is known that deficiency of vitamin B12 leads to hyperhomocysteinemia. I examined how Hyperhomocysteinemia developes due to B12 deficiency due to metformin usage for a certain period of time, and whether cognitive changes might take place. Material and Method: This study is a prospectous and controlled work carried out between February and July 2015 on experimental animals. 24 female Sparque-Dawley rats were grouped in 4 different groups named Metformin-Control, STZ – Control, STZ – Metformin and Control- Control. Rats were daily given 250 mg/kg (p.o.) metformin and 2.5 cc (p.o.) distilled water as placebo treatment and control groups respectively for 21 days. At the end of this period, Passive avoidance test was applied to observe memory loss. After this application, blood was taken from animals, serum was isolated and checked for Homocystein levels. Findings and Result: In this study Passive Avoidance test did not result in a statistically significant change between groups. Homocystein (Hcy) data between treatment and control groups did not give statistically significant change either. Key Words: diabetic rats, metformin, cognitive disease, passive avoidance test