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Introduction: The progress made by contemporary neurobiology opens new horizons both for study and for treatment of disorders of the nervous system. At the present time we are in the age of growth factors. These are molecules which affect survival, development and the normal functioning of cell populations., Development: One of the most widely studied growth factors is nervous growth factor (NGF) which is necessary for normal life of various types of neurones, including sensory nerves and nerves derived from the neural crests. Diabetic neuropathy, worldwide a major neurological disorder, is primarily characterized by involvement of the fine fibres for temperature and pain perception and also by a variety of autonomic disorders. The great dependence of sensory and sympathetic nerves on NGF, the quantity of results which show alterations in the levels of neurotrophic factors in diabetic neuropathy (DN), and the encouraging experimental and clinical results of using NGF as a new alternative to treatment with DN, were the basic reasons which led us to do this study., Conclusions: We started by considering neurotrophic factors, especially NGF and its connection with DN disorders and its clinical applications, we made a summary of the main findings in this field to date.

Introduction: Studies of neural transplants in experimental models of Parkinson's disease have concentrated their attention on ectopic transplants of foetal mesencephalic cells to denervated striatum. However, the external globus pallidus has recently been shown to play an important part in the physiopathology of this disease., Objective: Bearing in mind the importance of loss of extra-striatal dopamine in the genesis of the clinical signs found in parkinsonism, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of foetal mesencephalic transplantation to the globus pallidus of hemiparkinsonian rats., Material and Methods: Following conventional transplantation methodolgy, suspensions of cells from the ventral mesencephalum of rat embryos (E-14) were implanted. The tissue was grafted into the striatum, pallidum-striatum and pallidum areas of rats with unilateral lesions of the striatonigral bundle. One, two, three and six months after transplantation, the rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine was evaluated. The rotatory behaviour induced by apomorphine was evaluated at three months. Motor ability of the front legs was evaluated in all experimental groups three months after transplantation using the 'ladder test'., Results: In the experimental groups in which a transplant was made to the globus pallidus there was a significant reduction (p < 0.01) in rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine and by apomorphine as compared with the non-transplanted groups., Conclusions: Transplants of foetal dopaminergic cells survive in the globus pallidus of hemiparkinsonian rats and can improve the rotational activity induced by dopaminergic agonists.

Introduction: Transplantation of foetal dopaminergic cells has been extensively used as restorative treatment for Parkinson's disease., Objective: This study was carried out to determine the survival, modifications in rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine and total content of dopamine in the striatal and nigra regions of hemiparkinsonian rats which had had foetal mesencephalic cells simultaneously transplanted to the striatum and pars reticularis of the substancia nigra., Material and Methods: The study was done using adult male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 gms. The following experimental groups were formed, depending on the site of transplant: St: transplant to striatum (n = 2); SNr: transplant to SNr (n = 20), ST + Snr; transplant to striatum and SNr simultaneously n = 20; and control (lesion with no transplant) n = 20. We studied the rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine 1, 2, 3 and 6 months after transplantation. After this time the rats were deeply anaesthetized and randomly allocated for morphological study or biochemical determination of the total dopamine content in the St and SNr using the HPLC technique., Results: Study of conduct showed no significant differences in rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine between the groups with intrastriatal transplants, but there was a difference between these and the SNr and control groups. Biochemical analysis showed that striatal DA content was significantly greater in the ST for the groups with intrastriatal transplants. The content of substancia nigra DA was significantly greater in the SNr of the ST + SNr group, followed by the ST group. Morphometric study showed differences, which were not significant, between ST transplanted animals and significant differences between the SNr transplanted group with a significant increase in survival of the SNr of the ST + SNr group., Conclusions: These results suggest a positive effect due to intrastriatal transplants compared to survival following intranigral transplants.

Introduction and Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive, slow loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substance nigra. Although the cause of this neurone loss is unknown, at the present time many papers suggest oxidative stress (OS), secondary to dopaminergic metabolism, as an aetiopathogenic factor of PD. Therefore study of the part played by OS in this would permit the use of antioxidants (AO) as another possibility for treatment of the disease. It would also be a major step forward in the search for possible biological markers., Material and Methods: A study using spectrophotometric techniques was made of the serum levels of four biochemical indicators: catalase (CAT), malonyl aldehyde (MDA), phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and Vitamin C (VITC) in controls and in patients with PD. We found the average value for each of the variables studied in controls and in patients, taking AO treatment into account., Results: The effect of clinical variables on serum levels of CAT, MDA, PLA2 and VITC was analyzed. It was seen that only the clinical state of Hoen and Yahr was related to the biochemical indicators. The CAT activity and VITC concentration showed statistically significant differences between patients (independently of their AO treatment) and controls. The CAT activity was significantly less in those treated with AO. The patients with PD did not all have the same degree of OS. The effect of AO treatment on plasma markers showed changes only in one subgroup of Parkinson patients., Conclusions: Our study suggests that AO treatment in this condition should be tailored to the individual patient according to the degree of OS present.

Introduction and Objective: The memory impairment which accompanies the aging process is a manifestation of diminished cognitive function. This is intimately related to neuropathological and biochemical changes in cholinergic areas of central nervous system (CNS). Cytokines, first described as immunoregulators, are also implied in defense reactions of the brain. Some studies on the action of IL-2 on the CNS suggest an action blocking the release of acetylcholine in the hippocampus., Material and Methods: We have studied the possible central neurotoxic effect of this soluble factor using the chronic intraperitoneal infusion of human recombinant IL-2 (hr-IL 2) to young and old Sprague Dawley rats., Results and Conclusions: The results do not show an in vivo action of IL-2 on the cholinergic function but are consistent with the probable role of this cytokine in the senescent cognitive impairment, in particular the age-related loss of spatial memory and/or during the evolution of neurodegenerative related process.