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Excitotoxicity, Cerebral Ischemia, and Neuroprotection by Competitive NMDA Receptor Antagonists

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Emerging Strategies in Neuroprotection

Part of the book series: Advances in Neuroprotection ((AN,volume 22))

Abstract

The concept of excitotoxicity, meaning the damage or death of neurons resulting from hyperactivation of excitatory cellular mechanisms, arose from the extensive histologic studies of Olney and his colleagues during the early 1970s. These investigators found that excitatory amino acids such as glutamate, when administered to immature rodents, induced degenerative changes in neurons in the retina and in the hypothalamus (Olney, 1971; Olney et al., 1971). Subsequent studies showed that there was a good correlation between the neurotoxic and neuroexcitatory potencies of a range of related amino acids, suggesting that there was a direct causal relationship between cellular activation and cell death (see Rothman and Olney, 1987).

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Authors
  1. Dirk Sauer
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  2. Lourdes Massieu
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  3. Peter R. Allegrini
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  4. Hugo Amacker
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  5. Markus Schmutz
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  6. Graham E. Fagg
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NeuroTherapeutics Corp. and Center for Neurologic Study, 11211 Sorrento Valley Road, 92121, San Diego, CA, USA

    Paul J. Marangos

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, 76107, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Harbans Lal

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© 1992 Birkhäuser Boston

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Sauer, D., Massieu, L., Allegrini, P.R., Amacker, H., Schmutz, M., Fagg, G.E. (1992). Excitotoxicity, Cerebral Ischemia, and Neuroprotection by Competitive NMDA Receptor Antagonists. In: Marangos, P.J., Lal, H. (eds) Emerging Strategies in Neuroprotection. Advances in Neuroprotection, vol 22. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6796-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6796-3_6

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  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-6798-7

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