The Journal of Practical Medicine >

2025 , Vol. 41 >Issue 13: 1997 - 2003

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2025.13.008

Basic Research

Effects of cortical neuronal and synaptic number changes on cognitive function in rats with type 1 diabetes mellitus⁃unbiased stereoscopic study

  • Yuanyu ZHAO ,
  • Min TAN ,
  • Hui ZHAO ,
  • Jing YANG ,
  • Feng ZHAO ,
  • Jiang DU
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  • Department of Pathology，Chengdu Integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital，Chengdu 610095，Sichuang，China

Received date: 2025-04-17

  Online published: 2025-07-18

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Abstract

Objective To explore the alterations in the numbers of cortical neurons and synapses in type 1 diabetic rats and their correlation with cognitive dysfunction. Methods A type 1 diabetes model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin （STZ）. Four-month-old specific pathogen-free （SPF）-grade Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly allocated into a control group and a diabetic group， with five rats in each group. After three months of continuous feeding， optical fractionator stereology was employed to quantitatively analyze the volume of the cerebral cortex， the number of neurons， and the number of synapses. Results In comparison with the control group， the volume of the cerebral cortex in the diabetic group decreased by 6.00%， and the number of neurons decreased by 14.09%. However， these differences were not statistically significant （P > 0.05）. Never theless， the density of synapses significantly decreased by 70.14% （P < 0.05）， and there was a significant difference in the number of Spinophilin/Neurabin-positive synaptic boutons per neuron in the cortex （P < 0.05）. Conclusion Although early-stage type 1 diabetes does not lead to a significant loss of cortical neurons， the substantial reduction in synaptic numbers might be a crucial pathological basis for cognitive dysfunction.

Key words： type 1 diabetes; cognitive dysfunction; cerebral cortex; stereology; neurons; synapses

Cite this article

Yuanyu ZHAO , Min TAN , Hui ZHAO , Jing YANG , Feng ZHAO , Jiang DU . Effects of cortical neuronal and synaptic number changes on cognitive function in rats with type 1 diabetes mellitus⁃unbiased stereoscopic study[J]. The Journal of Practical Medicine, 2025 , 41(13) : 1997 -2003 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2025.13.008

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