Potential For Treatment of Excitotoxicity
Since NMDA receptors are one of the most harmful factors in excitotoxicity, antagonists of the receptors have held much promise for the treatment of conditions that involve excitotoxicity, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's. This is counterbalanced by the risk of developing Olney's lesions, (which have only ever been observed in rodents, due to their lack of enzymes needed to break NMDA receptor antagonists down) although there is significant evidence against Olney's lesions forming in humans, and studies have started to find agents that prevent this neurotoxicity. Most clinical trials involving NMDA receptor antagonists have failed due to unwanted side effects of the drugs; since the receptors also play an important role in normal glutamatergic function, blocking them has harmful effects. These results have not yet been reproduced in humans, however. This interference with normal function could be responsible for neuronal death that sometimes results from NMDA receptor antagonist use.
Read more about this topic: NMDA Receptor Antagonist
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