USE OF DEPRENYL TO MAINTAIN, PREVENT LOSS, OR RECOVER NERVE CELL FUNCTION

摘要

Use of deprenyl, or its derivs, or anlogues, to maintain, prevent loss, and/or recover nerve cell function in an animal, is new. Also claimed is the testing of drugs for the above activities, by admin. of an agent having neurotoxic activity to a test animal; admin. of the drug to the test animal; sacrificing the test animal within 20 days from completion of admin. of the agent; taking serial sections of the brain through the substantia nigra compacta; determining the number of tyrosine hydroxlyase positive somata in alternate serial sections of the brain through the substantia nigra compacta and determining the number of Nissl stained positive substantia nigra compacta in intervening serial sections; and comparing the number of tyrosine hydroxlyase positive somata and Nissl stained somata determined with the number of tyrosine hydroxlyase positive somata and Nissl stained somata in serial sections of the brain through the substantia nigra compacta of a control animal which has not been given the drug.