Protective effects of nimodipine on cerebrovascular function in chronic alcoholic encephalopathy

Abstract

In the present study, we used chronic gavage administration of alcohol with gradual increases in alcohol concentration and volume to generate a rat model of chronic alcohol intoxication. We measured the changes in biological, behavioral, pathological and vascular injury-related molecular biological markers, and explored the effects of nimodipine intervention on alcohol intoxication. We found that chronic alcohol consumption induced a variety of behavioral abnormalities, accompanied by severe pathological changes in cerebral arterioles, prefrontal cortex and cerebellar tissue, as well as an upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), leptin receptor (ob-R) and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Treatment with mimodipine for 15 days significantly improved behavioral abnormalities, alleviated the pathological changes in blood vessels and brain tissues, increased VEGF expression, decreased ob-R expression, reduced plasma ET-1 leakage and protected vascular and neuronal functions.