The legacy of Vivian Teichberg: Scavenging of excess brain glutamate to minimize neurological damage

Numerous clinical and preclinical investigators have reported that in several important medical indications such as in (i) ischemic stroke, (ii) traumatic brain injuries (TBI), (iii) acute migraine cases, (iv) glioblastoma brain tumors and (v) epileptic attacks, there is a rapid accumulation in the brain of excess glutamate molecules which are excitotoxic and this leads to significant neurological damage and motoric incapacitations in patients.

Vivian Teichberg introduced a method for scavenging of excess brain glutamate which consists of the intravenous administration of a recombinant preparation of the enzyme, Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (GOT).  This causes a rapid decrease in blood glutamate levels and creates a gradient which leads to the efflux of the excess brain glutamate into the blood stream and reduces neurological damage. 

The main advantage of the Brain Glutamate Scavenging technology, over other drug treatments that are currently being developed, is that the augmentation of GOT activity occurs in the blood circulation and therefore, doesn’t affect normal brain neurophysiology, whereas the pharmacological inhibition of the activities of glutamate receptors or transport systems occurs in the brain, and could be followed by serious side effects in the central nervous system.