Aging exacerbates obesity-induced cerebromicrovascular rarefaction, neurovascular uncoupling, and cognitive decline in mice.

ABSTRACT: Epidemiological studies show that obesity has deleterious effects on the brain and cognitive function in the elderly population. However, the specific mechanisms through which aging and obesity interact to promote cognitive decline remain unclear. To test the hypothesis that aging exacerbates obesity-induced cerebromicrovascular impairment, we compared young (7 months) and aged (24 months) high-fat diet-fed obese C57BL/6 mice. We found that aging exacerbates the obesity-induced decline in microvascular density both in the hippocampus and in the cortex. The extent of hippocampal microvascular rarefaction and the extent of impairment of hippocampal-dependent cognitive function positively correlate. Aging exacerbates obesity-induced loss of pericyte coverage on cerebral microvessels and alter

SUBMITTER: Tucsek Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4204615 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature