GW 0742 is a selective PPAR.delta. agonist (EC50 = 1.1 nM) that exhibits 1,000-fold selectivity over the other human PPAR subtypes. GW 0742 exhibits time-dependent neuroprotection in low KCl-induced apoptosis in cerebellar granule neuronal cultures. Despite the neuroprotective properties observed, prolonged (48h) incubation with GW 0742 produced significant inherent toxicity. This cell death was determined to be apoptotic as identified with the TUNEL assay.