title: The effects of ceftriaxone on skill learning and motor functional outcome after ischemic cortical damage in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ceftriaxone, a β-lactam antibiotic, can selectively enhance the expression of glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1), the most abundant astrocytic glutamate transporter expressed in the cortex. It has been found to have neuroprotective effects when administered prior to brain ischemic damage or during the acute phase post-stroke, but its effects in chronic period have not been examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the effects of ceftriaxone on the acquisition of motor skill and the functional outcome after focal ischemic cortical lesions. In adult male rats, ceftriaxone (200 mg/kg) or vehicle was intraperitoneally injected daily for 5 days, a treatment regime previously established to upregulate GLT-1. This preceded 28 days of skilled reach training in intact animals or began 3 days following lesions, followed by 5 weeks of rehabilitative reach training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In intact rats, ceftriaxone did not affect skill learning rate or final performance. Following ischemic lesions, though there was no significant difference in lesion sizes between groups, ceftriaxone exacerbated initial deficits in reaching performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings of detrimental effects on motor functional outcome suggest that ceftriaxone may be more useful for neuroprotection during the acute phase of ischemia than for functional recovery in the post-acute period after ischemic damage.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA. sooykim@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Soo Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Theresa A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000633:toxicity*; D027342:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000187:drug effects*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D027342:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2; C493395:Slc1a2 protein, rat; D002443:Ceftriaxone