Lifelong feeding of a high aluminum diet to mice

In three experiments, high aluminum diets (1000 ug Al/g diet) were fed to m ice throughout their life span to determine whether neurodegenerative chang es were seen with aging. Brain Al concentrations were slightly lower in Al- treated mice than controls. Generally, no increased mortality or gross evid ence of neurodegeneration was seen in Al-treated mice. Eighteen and 24 mont h old Swiss Webster mice fed the high aluminum diet differed from controls on some neurobehavioral tests, but differences were no greater than previou sly seen with shorter term exposure in younger mice. Both brain Al concentr ation and susceptibility to oxidative damage, as measured with TBARS, were lower in the Al-treated aged mice than in controls. In addition, Al-treated aged Swiss Webster and C57BL/6J mice showed somewhat enhanced performance in the Morris water maze. Finally, Al treatment did not exacerbate the effe ct of MPTP treatment on a grip strength measure in either 66 or 235 day old male mice. Swiss Webster and C57BL/6J mice do not appear to provide useful models for studying Al-induced neurodegenerative changes in aging. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.