Differences of locomotor activities in the dementia rat model induced by oral d-galactose and intraperitoneal injection

Background: The aging process can increase the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Dementia is characterized by a gradual loss of cognitive performance for locomotor activity in exploring new environments. Research on dementia in mice was carried out by administering d-galactose to induce mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis of neurons.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in locomotor activity in rats induced by oral d-galactose and intraperitoneal injection.

Methods: An experimental study with a posttest control group design. The subjects were male Wistar rats aged 12-14 weeks with weighing 200-300gram obtained from the Animal Laboratory of the Pharmacology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University. The study was conducted for 8 weeks, from June to August 2019. A total of 20 rats induced d-galactose dose of 100 mg/kg/day orally and intraperitoneal injection. The use of animals was carried out after obtaining ethical clearance from the ethical committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University. Y maze test is conducted for 5 minutes at the end of week 8.

Results: There was a decrease in locomotor activity in both groups. The average locomotor activity in the oral group was 6.5+0.268, and the injection group was 5.5+0.341. Bivariate analysis with unpaired t-test showed significant differences in locomotor activity between groups given oral d-galactose compared to the intraperitoneal injection group with p=0.034 (<0.05).

Conclusion: Alzheimer's dementia induced d-galactose mice to have a different locomotor activity after administration by oral or intraperitoneal injection of d-galactose. This study supports the results of previous studies that the administration of d-galactose can cause impaired locomotor activity.