Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Induces a Decrease in the Levels of S-100b in the Rat Brain

Abstract

Using an experimental model of non-alcoholic (alimentary-induced) steatohepatitis in rats, we found that this pathological condition created by consumption of a special diet for 16 weeks results in a drop in the brain mass (by 22%, on average) and also in decreases in the size and morphological modifications of astrocytes and the level of a calcium-binding protein, S-100b. The latter shifts were greater in the hindbrain, including the cerebellum (34.8%), than in the hemispheres, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and cortex (18.0%).