Leuprolide Acetate, a GnRH Agonist, Improves Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: A Possible Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis

Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a well known hypothalamic neuropeptide, has been reported to possess neurotrophic properties. Leuprolide acetate, a synthetic analogue of GnRH is considered to be a very safe and tolerable drug and it has been used for diverse clinical applications, including...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurochemical research 2012-10, Vol.37 (10), p.2190-2197
Main Authors: Guzmán-Soto, Irene, Salinas, Eva, Hernández-Jasso, Irma, Quintanar, J. Luis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetic acid
Animals
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cell Biology
Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental - prevention & control
Female
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone - agonists
Leuprolide - pharmacology
Leuprolide - therapeutic use
Multiple Sclerosis - drug therapy
Neurochemistry
Neurology
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Rats
Rats, Inbred Lew
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Summary:Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a well known hypothalamic neuropeptide, has been reported to possess neurotrophic properties. Leuprolide acetate, a synthetic analogue of GnRH is considered to be a very safe and tolerable drug and it has been used for diverse clinical applications, including the treatment of prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, central precocious puberty and in vitro fertilization techniques. The present study was designed to determine whether Leuprolide acetate administration, exerts neurotrophic effects on clinical signs, body weight gain, neurofilaments (NFs) and myelin basic protein (MBP) expression, axonal morphometry and cell infiltration in spinal cord of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) rats. In this work, we have found that Leuprolide acetate treatment decreases the severity of clinical signs of locomotion, induces a significantly greater body weight gain, increases the MBP and NFs expression, axonal area and cell infiltration in EAE animals. These results suggest the use of this agonist as a potential therapeutic approach for multiple sclerosis.
ISSN:0364-3190
1573-6903
DOI:10.1007/s11064-012-0842-x