TABLE 3.
A summary of evidence linking high cholesterol diets exposure in rodents to cerebral alterations associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
| Diet composition (cholesterol) | Diet duration | Animal (age-months) | Main alteration | References |
| 1.25%+ 20% fat | 8 weeks | Mice (3) | – Memory deficits – ↑ AChE activity in PFC and hippocampus | Moreira et al., 2014 |
| 5% | 5 months | Rats (6) | – Memory deficits – ↓ ChAT positive neurons in cerebral cortex – ↓ Acetylcholine levels in cerebral cortex – ↑ Aβ1–42 immunocontent – BBB disruption in cerebral cortex – Neuroinflammation | Ullrich et al., 2010 |
| 12 weeks | Mice (2) | – Memory deficits – Disruption of BBB – Neuroinflammation | Paul and Borah, 2017 | |
| – Motor alterations (akinesia, catalepsy, and ↓ swimming performance) – ↓ TH-positive neurons in striatum – ↓ Dopamine levels in striatum – Neuroinflammation | Paul et al., 2017a | |||
| 14 months | Mice (2) | – ↓ Dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra – ↓ Dopamine levels in striatum – Neuroinflammation | Paul et al., 2017b | |
| 3% | 8 weeks | Mice (6) | – Disruption of BBB – Neuroinflammation | Chen et al., 2018 |
AChE, acetylcholinesterase; Aβ, amyloid-β peptide; BBB, blood-brain barrier; ChAT, choline acetyltransferase; PFC, prefrontal cortex; TH, tyrosine-hydroxylase. (↑) Increased, (↓) decreased.