[Formation of the spatial memory in rats with ischemic injury in prefrontal areas of the cortex--effects of a sinthetic analogue of ACTH(4-7)].
Silachev. D N DN; Shram. S I SI; Shakova. F M FM; Romanova. G A GA; Miasoedov. N F NF
Key Findings
- Photochemically induced clotting in the prefrontal cortex creates a clear infarct and impairs spatial learning in rats.
- Intranasal semax (250 µg/kg) given once daily for six days after the injury restores performance in the Morris water‑maze.
- The long‑lasting anti‑amnesic effect is likely due to semax’s neuroprotective action and stimulation of neurotrophic factor synthesis.
Practical Outcomes
- For self‑experimenters, this study suggests that semax may have neuroprotective and cognition‑enhancing properties after acute brain injury, but the data are limited to rats and a specific injury model. Translating the dose to humans would require careful scaling and safety checks, and there is no evidence yet for benefits in healthy people or for routine cognitive enhancement.
Summary
In rats with a small stroke in the front part of the brain, daily nose‑drops of the peptide semax (250 µg per kg) for six days helped them regain the ability to learn a water‑maze task. The benefit is thought to come from semax’s strong brain‑protecting effects and its ability to boost growth‑factor production.
Abstract
It was shown, that photochemically induced thrombosis of blood vessels in prefrontal areas of the cortex lead to the formation of well-defined infarct zone. Bilateral prefrontal cortex injury impair acquisition of the Morris water-maze on postoperative days 20-24. Chronic treatment of brain-injuried rats with peptide semax, a synthetic analogue of ACTH(4-7), at a dose of 250 microg/kg (intranasal, once a day) during six days after photothrombosis resulted in restoration of spatial learning ability. The observed long-lasting antiamnesic effects of the semax are probably caused by its strong neuroprotective action, and ability to induce synthesis of nerotrophic factors.
Study Information
pubmed
2008