piperidines and vinpocetine

Topics: Acetylcarnitine; Acetylcholine; Alzheimer Disease; Animals; Antioxidants; Brain; Candy; Cognition; Dietary Sucrose; Dietary Supplements; Donepezil; Ginkgo biloba; Glucose; Humans; Indans; Memory; Neurotransmitter Agents; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylserines; Piperidines; Piracetam; Plant Extracts; Plant Preparations; Vinca Alkaloids

We studied the protective effects of pentobarbital, vinpocetine, flunarizine, and ifenprodil on delayed neuronal death using Mongolian gerbils. The animals were allowed to survive for 7 days after 5 min of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries. Hippocampal cell loss was quantified histologically 7 days following ischemia. Intraperitoneal application of pentobarbital (40 mg/kg) 30 min and vinpocetine (50 and 100 mg/kg) 10 min before ischemia significantly reduced neuronal cell loss in the CA1 sector. However, the intraperitoneal administration of flunarizine (10 and 30 mg/kg) and ifenprodil (10 and 30 mg/kg) 15 min before ischemia was not protective. The results suggest that pentobarbital and vinpocetine prevent ischemic neuronal damage, but not flunarizine and ifenprodil. These findings are of interest in relation to the mechanism of delayed neuronal death.

Topics: Animals; Cell Survival; Flunarizine; Gerbillinae; Hippocampus; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Neurons; Pentobarbital; Piperidines; Vinca Alkaloids

The effects of vinpocetine and ifenprodil on the brain glucose uptake were studied in mice using a glucose analog, 2-deoxyglucose-14C, as a tracer of glucose. The brain glucose uptake was 1.42 +/- 0.06 mg/g/10 min (n = 8, Mean +/- SEM) in fasted control mice (5 ml/kg of 2% ascorbic acid). Thirty min after 5 and 20 mg/kg (p.o.) of vinpocetine, the uptake was increased to 106 +/- 6% (n = 9, P greater than 0.05) and 115 +/- 5% (n = 9, P less than 0.05) of the control value, respectively. The uptake was not increased by oral administration of 5 and 20 mg/kg of ifenprodil tartrate. Ten min after intraperitoneal injection of 1 and 5 mg/kg of vinpocetine, the glucose uptake was increased to 106 +/- 5% (n = 10, P greater than 0.05) and 112 +/- 4% (n = 10, P less than 0.05) of the control value, respectively. These results indicate that vinpocetine increases cerebral energy metabolism in mice after oral administration as well as intraperitoneal injection.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Brain; Glucose; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Piperidines; Vasodilator Agents; Vinca Alkaloids