[Effect of nootropil on the ultrastructure of the cerebral cortex of the aged rat].

The brain cortex was studied in 7 Wistar rats aged 25-35 months. Rats receiving nootropil (piracetam) showed intracellular regeneration (enrichment of neuronal nuclei for chromatin, increased degree of plication of nuclear membrane, nucleolar hypertrophy, increase in the number of cellular organellae which created a picture of perinuclear hyperchromatosis). Another important effect of nootropil was dramatic reduction of hydropsy of the neural tissue. Nootropil use was also associated with the development and strengthening of the compensatory/adaptive reaction expressed on the morphological level by the development of comprehensive structural contacts of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and capillaries with different parts and each other. The use of nootropil made it possible to ascertain the reversible pattern of some morphological changes related to physiological aging.