Research Article Protective Effects of p38 MAPK Inhibitor SB202190 against Hippocampal Apoptosis and Spatial Learning and Memory Deficits in a Rat Model of Vascular Dementia

Copyright © 2013 Shen Yang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Vascular dementia (VaD) is a common age-related neurodegenerative disease resulting from chronic hypoxia. In the present study, we examined the protective effects of p38 MAPK inhibitor SB202190 against hippocampal apoptosis and spatial learning and memory deficits in a chronic hypoperfusion rat model of VaD established by permanent bilateral carotid occlusion (2-VO). Sixty rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, VaD model, and VaD plus SB202190 groups