Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6018279 | Experimental Neurology | 2013 | 9 Pages |
â¢Chronic asthma impairs learning and memory ability in MWM test.â¢Chronic asthma destroys synaptic structure and function.â¢Chronic asthma results in down-regulation of c-fos, Arc and neurogenesis.
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness today. However, little attention is paid for the impacts of chronic asthma-induced hypoxia on cognitive function in children. The present study used immature mice to establish ovalbumin-induced chronic asthma model, and found that chronic asthma impaired learning and memory ability in Morris Water Maze test. Further study revealed that chronic asthma destroyed synaptic structure, impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) maintaining in the CA1 region of mouse hippocampal slices. We found that intermittent hypoxia during chronic asthma resulted in down-regulation of c-fos, Arc and neurogenesis, which was responsible for the impairment of learning and memory in immature mice. Moreover, our results showed that budesonide treatment alone was inadequate for attenuating chronic asthma-induced cognitive impairment. Therefore, our findings indicate that chronic asthma might result in cognitive dysfunction in children, and more attention should be paid for chronic asthma-induced brain damage in the clinical therapy.