Long-term motor improvement after stroke is enhanced by short-term treatment with the alpha-2 antagonist, atipamezole.

Abstract

Drugs that increase central noradrenergic activity have been shown to enhance the rate of recovery of motor function in pre-clinical models of brain damage. Less is known about whether noradrenergic agents can improve the extent of motor recovery and whether such improvement can be sustained over time. This study was designed to determine if increasing central noradrenergic tone using atipamezole, an alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist, could induce a long-term improvement in motor performance in rats subjected to ischemic brain damage caused by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. The importance of pairing physical "rehabilitation" with enhanced noradrenergic activity was also investigated. Atipamezole (1 mg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle (sterile saline) was administered once daily on Days 2-8 post-operatively. Half of each drug group was housed under enriched environment conditions supplemented with daily focused activity sessions while the other half received standard housing with no focused activity. Skilled motor performance in forelimb reaching and ladder rung walking was assessed for 8 weeks post-operatively. Animals receiving atipamezole plus rehabilitation exhibited significantly greater motor improvement in both behavioral tests as compared to vehicle-treated animals receiving rehabilitation. Interestingly, animals receiving atipamezole without rehabilitation exhibited a significant motor improvement in the ladder rung walk test but not the forelimb reaching test. These results suggest that a short-term increase in noradrenergic activity can lead to sustained motor improvement following stroke, especially when paired with rehabilitation.

• Authors: Erik J Beltran, Catherine M Papadopoulos, Shih-Yen Tsai, Gwendolyn L Kartje, William A Wolf
• Journal: Brain research (Brain Res) Vol. 1346 Pg. 174-82 (Jul 30 2010) ISSN: 1872-6240 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 20510888 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.)
• Copyright: Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chemical References

• Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists
• Adrenergic alpha-Agonists
• Imidazoles
• atipamezole

Topics

• Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists
• Adrenergic alpha-Agonists (therapeutic use)
• Animals
• Conditioning, Operant (drug effects)
• Forelimb (physiology)
• Imidazoles (therapeutic use)
• Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery (physiopathology)
• Male
• Middle Cerebral Artery (pathology)
• Motor Skills (drug effects)
• Psychomotor Performance (drug effects)
• Rats
• Rats, Long-Evans
• Recovery of Function (drug effects)
• Stroke (drug therapy, pathology, psychology)