Vinpocetin protects against excitotoxic cell death in primary cultures of rat cerebral cortex.

The protective effect of vinpocetin, a drug clinically useful in brain hypoxia/ischemia, was examined in vitro on cerebrocortical cultures treated with glutamate and related excitotoxins. The extent of cell death was quantified by measuring lactic dehydrogenase activity released from damaged cells into the culture medium. Vinpocetin partially protected the cortical cells against cell death induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate, quisqualate and kainate, indicating that the drug exerts a direct protective action on cerebrocortical cells bearing excitatory amino acid receptors.