Blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors may protect against ischemic damage in the brain.
In rats ischemia of the forebrain induced by a 30-minute occlusion of the carotid artery, followed by 120 minutes of arterial reperfusion, produced ischemic lesions of selectively vulnerable pyramidal cells in both hippocampi. Focal microinfusion into the dorsal hippocampus of 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid, an antagonist of excitation at the N-methyl-D-aspartate-preferring receptor, before ischemia was induced protected against the development of ischemic damage. It is proposed that excitatory neurotransmission plays an important role in selective neuronal loss due to cerebral ischemia.
D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
D000596:Amino Acids; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; C031231:2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid