title: NAP accelerates the performance of normal rats in the water maze.
abstract: NAP (Asn-Ala-Pro-Val-Ser-Ile-Pro-Gln) has neuroprotective, memory enhancing, and neurotrophic properties. NAP is a short peptide sequence derived from the recently cloned, activity-dependent neuroprotective protein. The current study was designed to evaluate NAP activity in normal middle-aged animals to further assess NAP's breadth of neuroprotection. NAP was administered by inhalation. Results showed that in the paradigm of the Morris water maze, assessing short-term memory, only the NAP-treated middle-aged rats and not placebo-treated rats showed significant improvements by the end of the testing period. These results suggest efficacy for NAP in normal aging that is associated with accumulating environmental and genetic toxic factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. igozes@post.tau.ac.il
authors.forename: Illana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gozes
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alcalay
authors.forename: Eliezer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giladi
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinhasov
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Furman
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Brenneman
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D018782:Maze Learning; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000502:physiology*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D009842:Oligopeptides; D014867:Water; C425904:davunetide