Changes in Nitric Oxide Synthase-Containing Neurons in the Brain of Thiamine-Deficient Mice

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We examined nitric oxide synthase (NOS)−containing neurons in thiamine−deficient mice histochemically using NADPH−diaphorase (NADPH−d). Decreases in the number of cell bodies and the densities of fibers in NADPH−d−containing neurons were detected in selective areas of the thalamus, the lateral habenular nucleus, the dorsal raphe nucleus and the medial vestibular nucleus, and decreases in the density of the fibers were also detected in the caudal part of the medial portion of the medial mammillary nucleus in thiamine−deficient mice. A marked loss of NADPH−d−containing neurons was also noted in the hippocampus. The results suggest that NOS is associated with neuropathological vulnerability of the brain in experimental thiamine deficiency.