The release of excitatory amino acids, dopamine, and potassium following transplantation of embryonic mesencephalic dopaminergic grafts to the rat striatum, and their effects on dopaminergic neuronal survival in vitro.

A major limitation to the effectiveness of grafts of fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue for parkinsonism is that about 90-95% of grafted dopaminergic neurones die. In rats, many of the cells are dead within 1 day and most cell death is complete within 1 week. Our previous results suggest that a major cause of this cell death is the release of toxins from the injured CNS tissue surrounding the graft, and that many of these toxins have dissipated within 1 h of inserting the grafting cannula.