Abstract: Compounds of the general formulae (1) and (2) A-B-D-B?-A???(1) and A-B-D-E??(2) in which A and A? may be identical or different and are the residue in which X is S, O, CH2, CH2CH2, CH2O or CH2NH, and Y is H or CN, and * designates a chiral carbon atom preferably in S- or L-configuration; B and B? may be identical or different and are an O, N or S containing or non-containing, unsubstituted or substituted, unbranched or branched alkylene residue, cycloalkylene residue, aralkylene residue, heterocycloalkylene residue, heteroarylalkylene residue, arylamidoalkylene residue, heteroarylamidoalkylene residue, unsubstituted or mono- or poly-substituted arylene residue or heteroarylene residue having one or more five-, six- or seven-membered ring(s); D is —S—S— or —Se—Se—; and E is the group —CH2—CH(NH2)—R9 or —CH2—*CH(NH2)—R9 respectively in which R9 is an O, N or S containing or non-containing, unsubstituted or substituted, unbranched or branched alkyl residue, cycloalkyl residue, aralkyl resid

Abstract: A drug composition for the prevention and the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases (for example ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, focal and global ischemia, amyotrophic lateral slerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Hunntington's disease, multiple sclerosis). The combination of effective agents comprises at least two of the following substances: &agr;-lipoic acid; ambroxol and one or several inhibitor(s) of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). It could surprisingly be found in the experiments on which the invention is based that neuronal cells which are particularly sensitive to degenerative insults, have less free constitutional thiol groups than have other cells of the central nervous system (CNS). It was demonstrated that this reduced content of free thiol groups is causally connected to the damaging of those cells after a degenerative event.

Abstract: The invention relates to a medicament containing an effector of the glutathione metabolism together with &agr;-lipoic acid, its salts and/or prodrugs as a combined preparation for the simultaneous, separate or time-controlled treatment of a defective thiol-disulfide status in kidney replacement therapy and of clinical characteristics, which indicate a disorder of the thiol-disulfide status of immunocytes. The correction of a defective thiol metabolism is of fundamental importance as a basic therapy for treating a large number of diseases of different origin, in particular however in circumstances requiring an essential kidney replacement therapy.