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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
The Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Model of Perinatal Ischemia
Published on: November 19, 2008
[Long-term effects of memantine therapy on neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage]
Ying Gao1, Hui-Jin Chen, Long-Hua Qian
1Shanghai Institute for Pediatric Research, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China.
Objective:
Animal trials have demonstrated that memantine has neuroprotective effects on hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain damage. Whether memantine can improve the long-term prognosis of rats with HI brain damage has not been reported. This study was designed to investigate the long-term effect of memantine therapy on neonatal rats with HI brain damage.
Methods:
Sixty postnatal 7-day-old newborn rats were randomly assigned into Normal control, HI and Memantine treated groups. Memantine (20 mg/kg) was administered immediately after HI in the Memantine-treated group. All subjects received a 5-day training of Morris water maze test from 23 days old. The escape latency (EL) was recorded at 28 and 35 days old.
Results:
The EL values of the Normal control, HI and Memantine-treated groups at 28 days old were 23.1 +/- 21.8, 35.1 +/- 5.3, and 20.6 +/- 3.4 seconds, respectively. There was a significant difference in the EL value between the HI and the Normal control groups (P < 0.05). The EL value of the Normal control, HI and Memantine-treated groups at 35 days old were 19.7 +/- 16.7, 35.6 +/- 32.3, and 16.3 +/- 13.2 seconds, respectively. A prolonged EL induced by HI still existed (P < 0.05 vs Normal controls) but memantine treatment shortened the EL (P < 0.01 vs HI group) at 35 days old.
Conclusions:
Administering memantine immediately after HI can markedly increase the abilities of spatial discrimination, learning and memory and improve the long-term prognosis in rats with HI brain damage.
