RILUZOLE DELAYED APPEARANCE OF PARKINSONIAN MOTOR ABNORMALITIES IN A CHRONIC MPTP MONKEY MODEL

Preliminary studies have shown that riluzole, a Na+ channel blocker wi th antiglutamatergic activity, has neuroprotective efficacy in several models of acute dopaminergic neurodegeneration. A chronic 1-methyl-4- phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) monkey model which comes clos er to the slow evolution of Parkinson's disease has recently been deve loped in order to allow dynamic studies. The present results show that riluzole delayed the appearance of parkinsonian motor abnormalities i n this dynamic model, using from 10.2 +/- 1.6 daily injections for the MPTP-treated monkeys (n = 4) to 16.5 +/- 2.0 daily injections for the MPTP + riluzole-treated monkeys (n = 4). These results strongly sugge st that riluzole may be beneficial to slow down the rate of progressio n of Parkinson's disease. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.