Abstract
The effects of early tooth extractions on age-associated changes in cognitive function were evaluated. Specifically, teeth were extracted at an early age in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM)P8, and the number of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes and spatial perception were evaluated at young, mature, and old ages. The following results were obtained:
1. Concerning spatial perception evaluated by the Morris water maze test, the shortening of the time until the animals reached the platform was significantly slower in mature or old mice of the tooth extraction group compared with age-matched controls. However, no significant difference was noted in the rate of shortening in young mice between the tooth extraction and control groups.
2. The number of GFAP-positive cells was significantly higher in the CA3 region of the hippocampus in the mature or old mice of the tooth extraction group compared with age-matched controls. However, no significant difference was observed in the CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus in the mature or old mice and in the CA1, CA3, and DG region in the young mice between the two groups.
These results suggest that the loss of teeth at an early age accelerated aging and that GFAP-positive astrocytes increased to compensate for a decrease in pyramidal cells.
