Effect of NC-1100 [1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-diphenylmethylpiperazinyl) ethanol dihydrochloride] on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism in rat brain: analysis using stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Effects of oral administration of NC-1100 on the metabolism of neuroactive amino acids in rat brain were studied using stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHR-SP) and Wistar Kyoto rats. The repeated administration of NC-1100 induced a significant increase of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in the cerebellum and medulla oblongata of SHR-SP. The decrease of aspartic acid contents in the cerebellum and medulla oblongata of SHR-SP was also noted following NC-1100 administration. Although the activity of L-glutamic acid decarboxylase did not change in these cerebral areas, the activity of GABA-transaminase:succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase was found to be significantly reduced in the cerebellum of SHR-SP following the repeated administration of NC-1100. The turnover rate of GABA was also significantly reduced in the cerebellum and medulla oblongata of SHR-SP. It was also found that the spontaneous release of preloaded [3H]GABA from cerebral cortical slices was significantly retarded by the continuous oral administration of NC-1100. These results suggest that NC-1100 may be a drug inducing the increase of GABA in the cerebellum and medulla oblongata following continuous administration, especially in animals having hypertension associated cerebrovascular disorders such as SHR-SP.