Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Jun.
Chronic treatment with a precursor of cellular phosphatidylcholine ameliorates morphological and behavioral effects of aging in the mouse hippocampus.
Crespo D, Megias M, Fernandez-Viadero C, Verduga R.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
[ PubMed ]

Abstract: Normal aging is commonly associated with a decline in memory, mainly for that related with newly acquired information. The hippocampal formation (HF) is a brain region that has been implicated in this dysfunction. Within the HF there are several cellular types, such as pyramidal cells, granule neurons of the dentate gyrus, and astrocytes. CDP-choline is a well-known intermediate in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, a phospholipid essential for neuronal membrane preservation and function; thus, this compound would attenuate the process of neuronal aging. To test this, three groups of male mice were used in this study. An adult 12-month-old group (ACG), a 24-month-old (OCG), and an old experimental group (OEG) were administered orally a solution of CDP-choline (150 mg/kg per day) from 12 up to 24 months. Experimental observations suggest that CDP-choline has a positive effect on memory (reference errors were attenuated), and hippocampal morphology resembled that of younger animals.