Abstract
The prophylactic neuroprotective effects of NAP, a femtomolaracting neuroprotective peptide were tested in a mouse model of head trauma. NAP was injected for the first 3 weeks of life and head injury was initiated at 4 months. After trauma, mice were tested for their performance by evaluating damaged motor ability, balance and alertness. Comparison of the performance 1 h and 1 week after injury indicated that NAP treatment resulted in faster and enhanced recovery. In a 5-day Morris water maze test with mice suffering moderate to severe injuries, only the NAP-treated group learned to find the hidden platform in the maze. Furthermore, NAP treatment resulted in decreased mRNA expression of the inflammation marker, Mac-1. Thus, a potentially new prophylactic treatment against neurodegeneration is suggested.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 481-484 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | NeuroReport |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 3 Mar 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Inflammation
- Peptides
- Traumatic brain injury
- Water maze