Memantine reduces hematoma expansion in experimental intracerebral hemorrhage, resulting in functional improvement

Soon Tae Lee, Kon Chu, Keun Hwa Jung, Juhyun Kim, Eun Hee Kim, Se Jeong Kim, Dong In Sinn, Song Yi Ko, Manho Kim, Jae Kyu Roh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

Glutamate is accumulated in abundance during the early period of experimental hematoma, and the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors by glutamate can result in an influx of calcium and neuronal death in cases of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Memantine, which is known to be a moderate-affinity, uncompetitive, NMDA receptor antagonist, was investigated with regard to its ability to block the glutamate overstimulation and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)/urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 modulation in experimental ICH. Intracerebral hemorrhage was induced via the infusion of collagenase into the left basal ganglia of adult rats. Either memantine (20 mg/kg/day) or PBS was intraperitoneally administered 30 min after the induction of ICH, and, at daily intervals afterwards, for either 3 or 14 days. Hemorrhage volume decreased by 47% in the memantine group, as compared with the ICH-only group. In the memantine group, the numbers of TUNEL+, myeloperoxidase (MPO) +, and OX42+ cells decreased in the periphery of the hematoma. Memantine resulted in an upregulation of bcl-2 expression and an inhibition of caspase-3 activation. Memantine also exerted a profound inhibitory effect on the upregulation of tPA/uPA mRNA, and finally decreased the MMP-9 level in the hemorrhagic brain. In modified limb-placing test, the memantine-treated rats exhibited lower scores initially, and recovered more quickly and thoroughly throughout the 35 days of the study. Here, we show that memantine causes a reduction of hematoma expansion, coupled with an inhibitory effect on the tPA/ uPA and MMP-9 level. Subsequently, memantine was found to reduce inflammatory infiltration and apoptosis, and was also determined to induce functional recovery after ICH.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)536-544
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Volume26
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Glutamate
  • Intracerebral hemorrhage
  • MMP-9
  • Memantine
  • tPA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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