The Use of Microdialysis for Monitoring the Effect of the Neuroprotective Drug CI-977 on Extracellular Excitatory Amino Acids

The excitatory amino acid glutamate is now accepted as an important cause of brain damage in animals following ischemia [1, 2]. Its effects can be ameliorated by various neuroprotective drugs that either block the postsynaptic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors or which putatively inhibit the presynaptic release of glutamate [3]. In man, ischemia is a cause of brain damage, not only in stroke but also in head injury; as many as 85% of patients who die following a head injury have evidence of hypoxic ischemic brain damage [4, 5]. The use of neuroprotective drugs in these conditions could be beneficial, and there are currently several clinical studies under way.