title: Leuprolide acetate, a GnRH agonist, improves experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: a possible therapy for multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a well known hypothalamic neuropeptide, has been reported to possess neurotrophic properties. Leuprolide acetate, a synthetic analogue of GnRH is considered to be a very safe and tolerable drug and it has been used for diverse clinical applications, including the treatment of prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, central precocious puberty and in vitro fertilization techniques. The present study was designed to determine whether Leuprolide acetate administration, exerts neurotrophic effects on clinical signs, body weight gain, neurofilaments (NFs) and myelin basic protein (MBP) expression, axonal morphometry and cell infiltration in spinal cord of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) rats. In this work, we have found that Leuprolide acetate treatment decreases the severity of clinical signs of locomotion, induces a significantly greater body weight gain, increases the MBP and NFs expression, axonal area and cell infiltration in EAE animals. These results suggest the use of this agonist as a potential therapeutic approach for multiple sclerosis.
authors: Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Av. Universidad 940, C.P. 20131 Aguascalientes, Mexico.
authors: Irene
authors: I
authors: Guzmán-Soto
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Salinas
authors: Irma
authors: I
authors: Hernández-Jasso
authors: J Luis
authors: JL
authors: Quintanar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists*; D016729:Leuprolide / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew
chemical_list: D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D016729:Leuprolide