Effect of amiridine and tacrine on the functional degeneration of the isolated neuron

Amiridine and tacrine are found to have a concentration-dependent effect on the spontaneous activity of an isolated neuron from crawfish. Amiridine in a concentration of 1 μM reliably prolongs the lifetime of the neuron, whereas lower concentrations are inactive and a high concentration (10 μM) reduces spontaneous activity. Tacrine is unable to prolong the lifetime of the neuron. It is suggested that, unlike tacrine, the therapeutic effect of amiridine stems from its ability to prolong neuronal functioning. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, N ^o 1, pp. 52–54, January, 1996 Presented by Yu. A. Romanov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences