Comparative study of preventive and therapeutic effects of IEM-1966 and memantine in rats with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

We compared preventive and therapeutic effects of memantine, a selective blocker of NMDA-receptors, and IEM-1966, a blocker of both NMDA- and GluR1 AMPA-receptors, on the model of acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Memantine in high doses prevented the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis only in 10% rats, slightly (by 1.4-1.5 times) moderated the neurological disturbances, and shortened the duration of the disease. In far lower doses, IEM-1966 prevented the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in 50% rats, while in the affected rats it decreased the severity of neurological disturbances and duration of the disease by 3-4 times. When applied during the clinical phase of the disease, IEM-1966 decreased the severity of neurological disturbances and duration of the disease by 2.0-2.5 times predominantly in rats with mild and moderate course of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.