Chronic phosphatidylserine treatment improves spatial memory and passive avoidance in aged rats

Learning/memory deficits in senescent animals are widely used as a tool to evaluate the therapeutic potential of agents for treatment of age-associated cognitive dysfunction. As assessed in the Morris water maze test, aged (21–24 months) rats showed a variable loss of spatial memory. Aged non-impaired rats performed as well as young subjects, while aged impaired rats exhibited a severe and persistent place-navigation, deficit. Passive avoidance retention was similarly affected in the two aged subpopulations. Chronic oral administration of phosphatidylserine (50 mg/kg/day for up to 12 weeks), a pharmacologically active phospholipid, was found to improve both the spatial memory and the passive avoidance retention of aged impaired rats. Results are discussed with reference to the phosphatidylserine-induced improvement of age-associated deterioration of brain functions in rats.We are grieved to record the unexpected, death of Professor L. Valzelli. He was a scientist of merit and a great humanitarian