NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Darbepoetin alfa given within 2 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion provides neuroprotection in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia, according to a report in the May issue of Stroke.
Darbepoetin alfa is a novel recombinant erythropoietic protein that activates the erythropoietin receptor, the authors explain, and erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to be neuroprotective in various rodent models.
Dr. Ludmila Belayev from University of Miami School of Medicine and colleagues investigated the neuroprotective potential of darbepoetin alfa in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia.
Darbepoetin alfa-treated animals showed significant improvements in neurological score compared with vehicle-treated animals within 1 hour of treatment, the authors report, and the improvement was sustained throughout the 14-day survival period.
Rats in the 14-day survival group treated with darbepoetin alfa had significantly less total cortical infarct volume and markedly reduced cortical and subcortical infarction, the report indicates, but brain swelling was not affected by darbepoetin alfa treatment.
“Our results clearly demonstrate that this treatment improves outcome as measured by neurological score and by final pathological estimation of the size of infarction,” the investigators conclude.
“Many of the promising new drugs are designed to block only one specific event in the pathophysiology of ischemic brain,” Dr. Belayev told Reuters Health. “EPO can target different neurodegenerative pathways, which results in different actions, such as antiapoptotic, antioxidant, glutamate-inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, neurotrophic, stem cell-modulatory, and angiogenic effects.”
“We are planning to investigate the therapeutic window and dose response for darbepoetin alfa,” Dr. Belayev added.
Source: Stroke 2005;36:1065-1070. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Animal Diseases: Cerebral Infarction: Disease Models, Animal: Drugs, Investigational: Neuroprotective Agents: DiseasesCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
