Abstract
Background. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease in elder people, pathophysiologic basis of which is the severe deficiency of dopamine in the striatum. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of low-frequency rTMS on Parkinson's disease in model mice. Methods. The effects of low-frequency rTMS on the motor function, cortex excitability, neurochemistry, and neurohistopathology of MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease mice were investigated through behavioral detection, electrophysiologic technique, high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection, immunohistochemical staining, and western blot. Results. Low-frequency rTMS could improve the motor coordination impairment of Parkinson's disease mice: the resting motor threshold significantly decreased in the Parkinson's disease mice; the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neuron and the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase were significantly improved by low-frequency rTMS; moreover, the expressions of brain derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor were also improved by low-frequency rTMS. Conclusions. Low-frequency rTMS had a neuroprotective effect on the nigral dopaminergic neuron which might be due to the improved expressions of brain derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. The present study provided a theoretical basis for the application of low-frequency rTMS in the clinical treatment and recovery of Parkinson's disease.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a major neurodegenerative disease in elderly population, the symptom of which includes bradykinesia, resting tremor, muscular rigidity, and gait disturbance [1, 2]
We investigated the effects of lowfrequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on motor function, cortex excitability, neurochemistry, neurohistopathology of 1-methyl-4-phenyl1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine- (MPTP-) induced PD mice by behavioral detection, electrophysiologic technique, high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD), immunohistochemical staining, and western blot
Similar symptoms were observed after the subsequent injections, and the symptoms of bradykinesia, stiffness, and instability of gait strengthened with the injection of MPTP
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a major neurodegenerative disease in elderly population, the symptom of which includes bradykinesia, resting tremor, muscular rigidity, and gait disturbance [1, 2]. The underlying mechanism of this neuron loss in PD patients remains unrevealed; hypothesis that the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neuron (NDN) is linked to a lack of trophic support was proposed. Those trophic factors include brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), which have been reported to be downregulated in the SN from PD patients. Low-frequency rTMS had a neuroprotective effect on the nigral dopaminergic neuron which might be due to the improved expressions of brain derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. The present study provided a theoretical basis for the application of low-frequency rTMS in the clinical treatment and recovery of Parkinson’s disease
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