Next Article in Journal
Book Review: Neurology and Religion
Previous Article in Journal
Diagnosis of Epilepsy after First Seizure. Introducing the SWISS FIRST Study
 
 
Clinical and Translational Neuroscience is published by MDPI from Volume 5 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with SAGE.
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Postacute Administration of the GABAA α5 Antagonist S44819 Promotes Recovery of Peripheral Limb Fine Motor Skills after Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Rats

by
Marta Pace
1,2,*,
Matteo Falappa
1,
Patricia Machado
3,
Laura Facchin
2,
Dirk M Hermann
4 and
Claudio L Bassetti
2,5
1
Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
2
Center for Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital (Inselspital), 3010 Bern, Switzerland
3
Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier, 92150 Suresnes, France
4
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
5
Department of Neurology, University Hospital-Inselspital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Clin. Transl. Neurosci. 2020, 4(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.1177/2514183x20948306
Submission received: 2 March 2020 / Accepted: 23 June 2020 / Published: 20 November 2020

Abstract

Background: Ischemic stroke causes hypoexcitability in the peri-infarct motor neocortex that stems from increased tonic γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA) activity in neurons. This hypoexcitability, while neuroprotective in the acute phase, may impair neuroplasticity and functional recovery in the subacute phase of stroke. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of delayed and prolonged administration of S44819, which is a potent and competitive selective antagonist of GABAA receptors, on the skilled reaching function in a rodent model of stroke. Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 15) were subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Starting 3 days after stroke, a vehicle or S44819 (3 or 10 mg/kg, BID) was delivered orally twice a day for 28 days. All animals were euthanized 2 weeks later after the washout period. A single pellet reaching task (SPR) was performed before (baseline value) and after the ischemic surgery at several time points (3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 38, and 45 days) to assess the motor deficit. Infarct volume and body changes were also evaluated. Results: S44819, administered at 10 but not 3 mg/kg, significantly improves SPR results over the 45 days after the ischemic surgery. No effect was observed in the infarct size and in the body weight over time between the groups investigated. Conclusion: S44819 at 10 mg/kg significantly enhances motor recovery on a skilled reaching task after sensory-motor cortex lesion. Additionally, our study, in light of the results of the RESTORE BRAIN (Randomized Efficacy and Safety Trial of Oral GABAA α5 antagonist S44819 after Recent ischemic Event) trial, may help clinicians to design clinical studies and stratify variables and patients adequately.
Keywords: stroke; functional outcome; motor function; single pellet reaching task; rats; sensory-motor cortex lesion; permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion; neuroplasticity stroke; functional outcome; motor function; single pellet reaching task; rats; sensory-motor cortex lesion; permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion; neuroplasticity

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Pace, M.; Falappa, M.; Machado, P.; Facchin, L.; Hermann, D.M.; Bassetti, C.L. Postacute Administration of the GABAA α5 Antagonist S44819 Promotes Recovery of Peripheral Limb Fine Motor Skills after Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Rats. Clin. Transl. Neurosci. 2020, 4, 14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514183x20948306

AMA Style

Pace M, Falappa M, Machado P, Facchin L, Hermann DM, Bassetti CL. Postacute Administration of the GABAA α5 Antagonist S44819 Promotes Recovery of Peripheral Limb Fine Motor Skills after Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Rats. Clinical and Translational Neuroscience. 2020; 4(2):14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514183x20948306

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pace, Marta, Matteo Falappa, Patricia Machado, Laura Facchin, Dirk M Hermann, and Claudio L Bassetti. 2020. "Postacute Administration of the GABAA α5 Antagonist S44819 Promotes Recovery of Peripheral Limb Fine Motor Skills after Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Rats" Clinical and Translational Neuroscience 4, no. 2: 14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514183x20948306

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop