The neurotoxic properties of glutamate were first demonstrated in 1957 by Lucas and
Newhouse, 1 who showed that systemic administration of glutamate to infant mice caused
retinal degeneration. Over the last 4 decades, a direct correlation between the
neuroexcitatory and neurotoxic properties of glutamate has been linked to activation of
excitatory amino acid receptors. 2-5 This overactivation leads to an enzymatic cascade of
events ultimately resulting in cell death. Regulation of synaptic transmission and glutamate …