Role of medical ozone in attenuating age-related changes in the rat cerebellum

Aging is an inevitable biological process characterized by motor in coordination and decline in the ability to learn new motor skills. The purpose of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the beneficial antiaging effects of medical ozone (O3) on the age-related structural damage of the rat cerebellum. We have examined the cerebellum of albino rats at the ages of 6, 20 and 22, and the effect of intraperitoneal medical O3 administration (0.7 g/kg) by histological, immunohistochemical and morphometric studies. Age-related changes in the cerebellum were in the form of a significant reduction in the number of Purkinje cells (PCs), which appeared shrunken with a darkly stained cytoplasm and vacuolated spaces in all layers. The decrease in Nissl granule content of the PCs was also observed. A significant reduction in Mab2, Ki67 immunoreactivity associated with significant increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein, Caspase-3 and iNos immunoreactivity were also detected. Medical O3 administration reversed all these histopathological and immunohistochemical changes. This protective effect was mediated by reducing oxidative stress, apoptosis, astrocyte activation and improving both neuritogenesis and neurogenesis. We can conclude from the results of the present study that medical O3 can prevent the retardation of age-related changes in rat cerebellum.