Combination therapy in ischemic stroke: synergistic neuroprotective effects of memantine and clenbuterol.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Although excitotoxic overactivation of glutamate receptors has been identified as a major mechanism of ischemic brain damage, glutamate receptor antagonists failed in stroke trials, in most cases because of limited therapeutic windows or severe adverse effects. Therefore, we chose memantine and clenbuterol, both approved safe and efficient in their respective therapeutical categories, and examined combinations of these neuroprotectants for possible therapeutic interactions in ischemic stroke. METHODS Combinations of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine (20 mg/kg) with the beta2-adrenoceptor agonist clenbuterol (0.3 to 3 mg/kg) were tested in a mouse model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia. In addition, combinations of memantine (1 to 10 nmol/L) and clenbuterol (1 to 10 nmol/L) were examined in cultured hippocampal neurons exposed to glutamate (500 micromol/L) or staurosporine (200 nmol/L). RESULTS The infarct size was further reduced by combination therapy as compared with effects of the respective neuroprotectants alone. Of note, in combination with memantine, the therapeutic window of clenbuterol was significantly prolonged up to 2 hours after ischemia. Experiments in postnatal cultures of rat hippocampal neurons exposed to glutamate or staurosporine confirmed that neuroprotection by combinations of memantine and clenbuterol exceeded the effects of the individual compounds. CONCLUSIONS Combinations of memantine with clenbuterol extend the respective therapeutic window and provide synergistic cerebroprotective effects after stroke.