Beneficial effects of long term caloric vestibular stimulation on changes in brain neurotransmitter dopamine and locomotor activity in Parkinson’s Disease induced rats

Abstract

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused due to deficiency of Dopamine in the Substantia nigra. The existing pharmaceutical treatments are not meeting the need, whereas deep brain stimulation is not suitable for patients with co-morbidities. Therefore, a need for non-invasive and conventional treatment with fewer side effects is required. So we have tried a simple method of Caloric Vestibular Stimulation (CVS) for the long term and assessed its neuroprotective effect in PD induced rats. In the present study, 30 adult male Wistar albino rats (250 - 300g) were randomly assigned into five groups. Group 1 control, Group 2 was induced with Parkinson’s disease using rotenone, Group 3 was PD induced and CVS gave for 45 days, Group 4 was PD induced for 21 days and left untreated to study for its recovery, Group 5 was given CVS only for 45 days. The behavioral activity was recorded using an actophotometer and to assess the function of the nigrostriatal pathway. Dopamine produced in the striatum was measured using reverse-phase HPLC. Results showed significant (P< 0.05) alteration in dopamine and locomotor activity in PD, which was significantly (P< 0.05) improved by warm water CVS administration in Parkinson's disease-induced rat. In this aspect, CVS can be utilized as a conventional treatment method for PD and thus recommended for further investigations towards translational treatment in humans for Parkinson’s disease.