Method of treating posttraumatic nervous injuries with dipeptide derivatives

A method of preventing or treating posttraumatic nervous injuries comprising administering to a patient suffering from traumata of the spinal cord or of the brain an effective nervous injury affecting amount of a compound corresponding to the formula:

• ##STR8## wherein R.sub.1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group containing one to six carbon atoms, a cyclohexyl group or a benzyl group,
• Z is one of the following groups in which the valence marked with an asterisk is attached to the rink carbonyl group in formula I:
• ##STR9## If Z represents a group (a), R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 together represent an additional bond between the carbon atoms to which they are attached, or if Z represents a group (b), R.sub.2 represents a hydrogen atoms,
• R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are the same or different and each represents hydrogen or an alkyl group containing one to three carbon atoms, or R.sub.5 also may represent a phenyl group, and
• R.sub.6 represents hydrogen or a methyl group, in hydrated or unhydrated form or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of such a compound with an acid.