Investigating the morphology, morphometry and behavioral analysis of the effect of demyelination on the hippocampus of rats in the model of multiple sclerosis induced by cuprizone

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that causes the degeneration of neurons in the hippocampus, cognitive disorders, memory disorders, and imbalance. This disease is three times more prevalent in women than men. The present study compared the destruction of astrocytes in the hippocampus and the subsequent functional disorders in both males and females without hormonal intervention.

20 adult rats were used in this study. The animals were randomly divided into 4 groups: male control, female control, male MS and female MS. In the MS groups, MS was induced by 0.02% cuprizone orally. Then they were subjected to a behavioral study for 6 weeks, and at the end of the experiment, a tissue sample from the hippocampus was studied. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 software. The data were presented as mean ± standard error. Analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance.  

There were weight loss, reduced brain anatomical parameters, neuron destruction and imbalance in both male and female sexes compared to other groups, and the severity of neuron destruction was more in the hippocampus of males than in females.

Although MS is more common in women than men, the severity of the destruction of brain structures and nerve cells is greater in men.