Effect of Yindan Xinnaotong Capsules on acetylcholinesterase level of the hippocampus in rats with vascular dementia and their behavioral changes

Objective To study the effect of Yindan Xinnaotong Capsules (YDXNT) on impairment of learning and memory in rats with vascular dementia (VD) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) level of the hippocampus,and observe the mechanism of YDXNT in VD. Methods Bilateral carotid arteries were repeatedly blocked and performed reperfusion with nitroprusside sodium by intraperitoneal injection to establish the rat models of VD.VD rat models were randomly divided into VD model group (n=10) and YDXNT treatment group (n=10),and another 10 condition-matched rats were selected as the sham-operated group.At 30 min after regaining consciousness and before execution,the neurological scale was performed on these rats; the effect of YDXNT on learning and memory in rats were tested by step-down avoidance tests; rats' brains were dissected out on the ice for detecting the activity of AchE.Results The scores of neurological scale in the YDXNT treatment group and VD model group were obviously higher than those in the sham-operated group (P＜0.05); the scores of neurological scale in the YDXNT treatment group were significantly lower than those in the VD model group (P＜0.05).In the step-down avoidance tests,the rats in the YDXNT treatment group had significantly shorter reaction time,less number of errors and longer latency than rats in the VD model group (P＜0.05).As compared with that in the VD model group,the activity of AChE in the hippocampus of YDXNT treatment group was significantly decreased (P＜0.05). Conclnsion YDXNT can ameliorate the learning and memory deficits of VD model rats and the mechanism may be its involvement in inhibiting the AChE activity. Key words: Yindan Xinnaotong Capsule; Vascular dementia; Acetylcholinesterase; Learning and memory