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A cluster analysis study of acetyl-l-carnitine effect on NMDA receptors in aging |
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| Authors: | Massimo Castorina Anna Maria Ambrosini Alessandro Giuliani Licia Pacifici Maria Teresa Ramacci Luciano Angelucci |
| Affiliation: | a Institute for Research on Senescence, Sigma Tau S.p.A., 00040 Pomezia, Rome, Italy b Institute of Pharmacology II, School of Medicine, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, 00187, Rome, Italy |
| Abstract: | Aging is associated with a reduction in the maximum density of n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-sensitive glutamate binding sites in the hippocampus of Fischer 344 rats. This study was designed to investigate the effect of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR) on NMDA receptors in the old rat (24 months) after chronic or single-dose treatments. The number of NMDA receptors was significantly decreased in the old rat hippocampus by 19.5% compared with the young rat. A six-month treatment with ALCAR in the old rat attenuated the loss of NMDA binding sites in the hippocampus. A single-dose treatment with ALCAR in the old rat increased the Bmax value by 35%, while no change was observed in the young group. We conclude that ALCAR can exert two actions: a trophic/neuro-preserving one when chronically administered during aging, and a stimulatory one when given at a single dose in the aged rat. |
| Keywords: | NMDA receptors aging, cluster analysis, acetyl-l-carnitine |
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