Figure 4.

Treatment of aged C57BL/6J mice with a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor UE1961 decreases 11β-reductase activity in the hippocampus and improves spatial memory retention in the Y-maze. A, Chemical structure of UE1961. B, 11β-Reductase activity was measured in tissue homogenates of the aged mice following administration of 10 mg/kg UE1961 (inhibitor) incubated with [³H]-11-dehydrocorticosterone (11-DHC) and the percentage conversion to active [³H]-corticosterone (CORT) was measured. C, Spatial memory retention as measured in the Y-maze with a 2 h ITI was significantly better in the UE1961-treated mice than vehicle-treated controls (n = 9–10/group). Values are means ± SEM. *p < 0.05 compared to corresponding novel arm. ^§ p < 0.001 compared to novel arm of vehicle-treated controls.