Evidence
![](https://psychiatryai.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/psychiatryai_com.webp)
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2024 Jan 31:173721. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173721. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment disorder that mainly arises due to abnormalities in different brain regions, resulting in behavioral deficits. Besides its diverse phenotypical features, ASD is associated with complex and varied etiology, presenting challenges in understanding its precise neuro-pathophysiology. Pioglitazone was reported to have a fundamental role in neuroprotection in various other neurological disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of pioglitazone in the prenatal valproic acid (VPA)-model of ASD in Wistar rats. Pregnant female Wistar rats received VPA on Embryonic day (E.D12.5) to induce autistic-like-behavioral and neurobiological alterations in their offspring. VPA-exposed rats presented core behavioral symptoms of ASD such as deficits in social interaction, poor spatial and learning behavior, increased anxiety, locomotory and repetitive activity, and decreased exploratory activity. Apart from these, VPA exposure also stimulated neurochemical and histopathological neurodegeneration in various brain regions. We administered three different doses of pioglitazone i.e., 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg in rats to assess various parameters. Of all the doses, our study highlighted that 10 mg/kg pioglitazone efficiently attenuated the autistic symptoms along with other neurochemical alterations such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis. Moreover, pioglitazone significantly attenuated the neurodegeneration by restoring the neuronal loss in the hippocampus and cerebellum. Taken together, our study suggests that pioglitazone exhibits therapeutic potential in alleviating behavioral abnormalities induced by prenatal VPA exposure in rats. However, further research is needed to fully understand and establish pioglitazone’s effectiveness in treating ASD.
PMID:38307465 | DOI:10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173721
![Google](https://www.google.com/images/branding/googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_light_color_92x30dp.png)
![Google Keep](https://www.gstatic.com/images/branding/product/1x/keep_48dp.png)
![Share on Linkedin](https://psychiatryai.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/linkedin-logo-png-2048-1.png)
Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)
Latest: Psychiatryai.com #RAISR4D Evidence
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bd462cc11bcf0bd0d0d6f1d0f8b7cd04-modified-1.png)
Cool Evidence: Engaging Young People and Students in Real-World Evidence
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bd462cc11bcf0bd0d0d6f1d0f8b7cd04-modified-1.png)
Real-Time Evidence Search [Psychiatry]
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pubmed.png)
AI Research
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Il5nR_nf_400x400-modified-1.png)
Ameliorating effect of pioglitazone on prenatal valproic acid-induced behavioral and neurobiological abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder in rats
![](https://psychiatryai.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/psychiatryai_com.webp)
🌐 90 Days
Evidence Blueprint
Ameliorating effect of pioglitazone on prenatal valproic acid-induced behavioral and neurobiological abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder in rats
![](https://psychiatryai.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/psychiatryai_com.webp)
☊ AI-Driven Related Evidence Nodes
(recent articles with at least 5 words in title)
More Evidence
![](https://psychiatryai.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/psychiatryai_com.webp)