Premium
GM 1 ganglioside treatment of central nervous system injury: Clinical evidence for improved recovery
Author(s) -
Samson Jaap C.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
drug development research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1098-2299
pISSN - 0272-4391
DOI - 10.1002/ddr.430190302
Subject(s) - neuroprotection , central nervous system , medicine , glutamate receptor , pharmacology , neuroscience , spinal cord injury , neurotrophic factors , neuroplasticity , neuropharmacology , ganglioside , receptor , spinal cord , biology , biochemistry
Monosialoganglioside GM 1 is a new pharmacological agent used to enhance recovery after central nervous system (CNS) injury. This agent is a natural component of cell membranes, and its clinical use is based on extensive experimental work which demonstrates that many parameters of brain function in CNS‐injured animals are positively influenced by the parenteral administration of monosialoganglioside GM 1 . The key mechanism through which monosialoganglioside GM 1 is able to exert its clinical effects is by enhancing the neuroplasticity of the CNS. The recovery‐promoting effect is mediated through neuroprotective and neuronotrophic activities exerted or enhanced by monosialoganglioside GM 1 . The neuroprotective activity is based on the prevention of the neuronotoxic consequences of indiscriminate excitatory amino acid receptor activation, particularly of glutamate receptors. In vitro and in vivo evidence indicates that the product enhances the trophic response of neurons to neurotrophic factors induced as a response to the lesion. The neuropharmacological effects of monosialoganglioside GM 1 in humans have been confirmed in controlled clinical trials in head and spinal cord injury and stroke. The therapeutic use of monosialoganglioside GM 1 is a significant innovation in an area of neuropharmacology that has been neglected until the functional significance of CNS neuroplasticity was recognized.