Influence of aminasine on experimental scrapie in mice

The influence of long-term treatment with aminasine--an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase--on duration of the incubation period, morbidity and on accumulation of the agent in the brain was followed in experimental scrapie of mice. Aminasine administration after intracerebral (i.c.) but not after intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation of the agent markedly prolonged the incubation period and slightly reduced the morbidity. The accumulation of the scrapie agent and the degree of histological lesions in the CNS detected 6 months post-inoculation (p.i.) were equal in both groups compared. The significance of these results is discussed from the viewpoint of the role of biogenic monoamines in the pathogenesis of scrapie.