Selegiline treatment facilitates recovery after stroke

OBJECTIVE

Selegiline (L-deprenyl) is a selective monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitor used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. In addition, it is thought to rescue neurons with a loss of target-derived trophic support. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain these phenomena, such as the production of neurotrophic actions through astrocyte activation, reduction of free radical production, or the presence of antiapoptotic properties. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the systemic administration of selegiline facilitates recovery after a cerebral infarction in humans.

METHODS

This phase II study was randomized, double-blind, and placebo controlled. Selegiline, 5 mg, or matched placebo was given twice a day for 3 months. The drug therapy was started within 48 h after a hemispheric infarction in the territory of middle cerebral artery. There were 24 patients recruited. Twenty patients were followed up to 3 months or until their death, and they represent the efficacy analysis group. The primary efficacy parameters were Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS), Barthel Index (BI), and Fugl-Meyer Scale (FMS). Secondary parameters were Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZDS) and 15-Dimensional Measure of Health Related Quality of Life test (15-D).

RESULTS

SSS improved statistically significantly from the baseline when compared with placebo (p = 0.019). The results were parallel among the other two primary efficacy variables (BI and FMS), showing a positive trend for selegiline, although they did not reach statistical significance. Similarly, in the analysis of the secondary efficacy variables, both the 15-D test and ZDS supported this positive trend in favor of selegiline, although no statistically significant differences between groups were found (p = 0.06 in 15-D test).

CONCLUSIONS

Selegiline seems to be beneficial after a cerebral infarction. This benefit may be due to the enhancement of the recovery process.

Studies on the degradation of ornithine decarboxylase by the immunoblotting technique

The degradation of ornithine decarboxylase was studied by an immunoblotting technique. The immunoblots of mouse kidney and brain cytosol preparations revealed degradation fragments of unequal size. The immunoreactive fragments found in kidney cytosol corresponded to molecular weights of 46 kDa and 32 kDa, whereas 36 kDa fragment was dominant in brain cytosol. When kidney cytosol was exposed to microsomal fraction of mouse brain before analysis, the kidney enzyme was degraded to 36 kDa-fragment. The microsomal fraction of mouse kidney, in turn, when incubated with brain cytosol brought about the appearance of immunoreactive protein corresponding to molecular weight of 35 kDa that was also found in kidney preparation, which was incubated as homogenate before electrophoretic run and immunoblotting. These results show that microsomal fractions effectively degrade enzyme protein, and suggest that the regulation mechanisms by the in vivo degradation of the enzyme are dissimilar in these tissues.

Visual thresholds in the deutan type of red-green deficient colour vision

Defective temporal integration for a foveally fixated 100' of arc red (660 nm) Btest flash presented on a 30 cd/m2 yellow ( Schott , OG 530) background was measured in subjects with deuteranopia , as well as in subjects with anomalous trichromacy of the deutan type. The mean integration time was 77 +/- 17 ms in 12 normal subjects but only 35 +/- 6, 46 +/- 11 Band 41 +/- 15 ms in respectively 6 subjects with deuteranopia , 7 with extreme deuteranomaly Band 9 with deuteranomaly . An increase in the test duration from 10 to 200 ms increased the mean relative sensitivity by 0.85 +/- 13 log units in the normal subjects compared with 0.45 +/- 0.05, 0.57 +/- 12 and 0.56 +/- 19 in subjects with deuteranopia , extreme deuteranomaly and deuteranomaly .