AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO ASSESS THE MEMORY-ENHANCING PROPERTY OF PITAVASTATIN AND GEMFIBROZIL IN MICE USING THE MORRIS-WATER MAZE MODEL. EVIDENCE TO CATEGORIZE THEM AS SMART DRUGS

Introduction: Discovery of smart drugs is part of advancing the science of molecular and biochemical mechanisms of memory. Smart drugs are not just memory boosters; they also act as memory enhancers that help quick decision-making. Pitavastatin and gemfibrozil both cause lipid-lowering effects by different mechanisms of action. A few studies show they can act on CREB (c-AMP response elemental binding protein), a known transcription factor. CREB performs an essential role in long-term memory restoration. Aim and Objectives: To evaluate the memory enhancer effect of pitavastatin and gemfibrozil compared to piracetam using Balb-c mice. Material and Methods: The escape latency period and time spent in the target quadrant were compared among four groups. Observations were analyzed by using paired t-tests, ANOVA, and post hoc Tukey’s test. Results: Pitavastatin (30mg/kg) and gemfibrozil (60mg/kg) significantly decline in the escape latency period. pitavastatin increased the total time spent in the target quadrant as compared to vehicle control in the Morris-water maze test (p< 0.01). However, gemfibrozil fails to show any increment in spending time in the target quadrant. Conclusion: In the present study, we concluded that pitavastatin and gemfibrozil possess memory-enhancer properties and can define them as “smart drugs”. However, further studies are needed to confirm that hypothesis.