he effects of vitamin B12 on the brain damages caused by methamphetamine in mice

Objective(s): Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful stimulant drug that directly affects the brain and induces neurological deficits. B12 is a water-soluble vitamin (vit) that is reported to attenuate neuronal degeneration. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effect of vitamin B12 on METH’s neurodegenerative changes. Materials and Methods: Two groups of 6 animals received METH (10 mg/kg, interaperitoneally (IP)) four times with a 2 hr interval. Thirty mins before METH administration, vit B12 (1 mg/kg) or normal saline were injected IP. Animals were sacrificed 3 days after the last administration. Caspase proteins levels were measured by Western blotting. Also, samples were examined by TUNEL assay to detect the presence of DNA fragmentation. Reduced glutathione (GSH) was also determined by the Ellman method. Results: The pathological findings showed that vit B12 attenuates the gliosis induced by METH. Vit B12 administration also significantly decreased the apoptotic index in the striatum and the cerebral cortex (P