Türk Nöroşirürji Dergisi 2005 , Vol 15 , Num 1
Excitatory Aminoacids and Excitotoxicity
Part I
Aşkın GÖRGÜLÜ1, Talat KIRIŞ2
1Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Nöroşirürji Anabilim Dalı, Isparta
2İstanbul Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Nöroşirürji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul
Anumber of studies published in recent years on the pathophysiology of certain central nervous system diseases demonstrated the importance of the concept of primary and secondary injuries. Primary injury is the neuronal tissue damage to take form immediately after the traumatic or ischemic event. There are no therapeutic options for the primary injury and only preventive measures can be taken. Secondary injury begins to develop a few minutes after the event at the cell level. The chain reaction induced by the complex secondary damage further increases and propagates the neuronal injury. Recent studies pointed out the importance of excitatory amino acids on the pathogenesis of secondary neuronal injury. On the other hand, studies with different central nervous system disease models using excitatory amino acid antagonists have shown the protective effects of these drugs on neuronal tissue. We review the literature and our studies on this topic and provide up-to-date information for researchers on this field. Anahtar Kelimeler : Aspartate, excitatory aminoacid, glutamate, NMDA