Non-transgenic animal model of Alzheimer's disease that responds to donepezil treatment

Newsletter # 32



Animal models

The complexity of neurodegenerative disease challenges the use of transgenic animal as animal model for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Indeed, none of the existing transgenic mice fully mirrors the phenotypical spectrum of the disease. Moreover, using this model as screening tool is costly and time consuming.

Intra-cerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of fibrillated Amyloid-β (Aβ) in rats is associated with neuropathological features of AD. Faster and cost-effective than transgenic mice, this model is tailored to accelerate and aid drug discovery in the treatment of AD.

Among the various assays/models for AD run by NEUROFIT for its customers, the model of i.c.v. Aβ-injected rats has generated a lot of interest through the ability of subchronic donepezil treatment to prevent the impairment of learning / memory of animals in the passive avoidance test.

  • Effect of subchronic and single treatment with donepezil on the passive avoidance performance of i.c.v. Aβ-injected rats (2 weeks post-i.c.v. injection)



  • i.c.v. injection of Aβ impairs the acquisition of passive avoidance task.
    Subchronic but not acute donepezil prevents this impairment.



  • i.c.v. injection of Aβ disrupts the retention of passive avoidance.
    Subchronic but not acute donepezil enhances the retention of passive avoidance in i.c.v. Aβ-injected rats.


NEUROFIT offers a range of validated in vitro and in vivo screening tests for psychiatry and neurology.

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