Effect of short and long term omega-3 fatty acids on cold stress induced neuronal changes in hippocampus of wistar rats [Kısa ve uzun dönem omega-3 yağ asitlerinin wistar sıçanlarının hipokampüsünde soğuk stresi ile oluşturulan nöronal değişikliklerine etkisi]

Background: inescapable stress is associated with impairments in learning and memory manifested by deficits behaviors. the current drug therapies for such stress induced neuronal loss are hindered due to poor efficacy and side effects.objective: present study was designed to compare the effect of short-term and long-term treatment with omega-3 fatty acids on cold stress induced neuronal changes in hippocampus of wistar rats.methods: total thirty male rats divided into five groups were used (n=6) for this study. group i was control in which rats were kept under ideal laboratory conditions,group ii was given cold water swim stress in which rats were forced to swim in the cold water. group iii was given cold stress followed by oral gavages of saline. group iv and group v was given cold stress followed by oral gavages of omega-3 fatty acids 60mg/kg of docosahexaenoic acid (dha) and eicosapentaenoic acid (epa) 2 weeks (short-term model) and 4 weeks (long term model) respectively. the complete study was carried out for 60 days. the next day blood was collected for cortisol assay and then the animals were sacrificed. brains were dissected out and processed for histological analysis.results: the total number of neurons was calculated from stained histological section by using micrometry in the ca1 region of the hippocampus. the data were compared with those of control rats. results indicate that long term treatment with omega-3 fatty acids is statistically significant when compared to the other groups.conclusion: long-term treatment with low doses of omega-3 fatty acids suggested to be used as an adjuvant to improve memory and to combat stress in our day to day life. © 2014,ege university press. all rights reserved.