title: Neuroprotective effect of vitamin E on the early model of Parkinson's disease in rat: behavioral and histochemical evidence.
abstract: There is strong evidence that oxidative stress participates in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). We designed this study to investigate the neuroprotective effect of vitamin E in the early model of PD. For this purpose, unilateral intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (12.5 microg/5 microl) lesioned rats were pretreated intramuscularly with D-alpha-tocopheryl acid succinate (24 I.U./kg, i.m.) 1 h before and three times per week for 1 month post-surgery. Apomorphine- and amphetamine-induced rotational behavior was measured postlesion fortnightly. A parallel tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity and wheat germ agglutinin-horse radish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) tract-tracing study was performed to evaluate the vitamin E pretreatment efficacy. Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunohistochemical analyses showed a reduction of 18% in ipsilateral substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) cell number of the vitamin E-pretreated lesioned (L+E) group comparing with contralateral side. The cell number dropped to 53% in the lesioned (L+V) group. In addition, retrograde-labeled neurons in ipsilateral SNC were reduced by up to 30% in the L+E group and 65% in the L+V group. Behavioral tests revealed that there are 74% and 68% reductions in contraversive and ipsiversive rotations in the L+E group, respectively, as compared with the L+V group. Therefore repeated intramuscular administration of vitamin E exerts a rapid protective effect on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in the early unilateral model of PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, P.O. Box 19835-181, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mehjour@iums.ac.ir
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roghani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Behzadi
mesh_terms: D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001284:Atrophy; D001370:Axonal Transport; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016627:Oxidopamine; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012399:Rotation; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000032:analysis; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D014810:Vitamin E; D016627:Oxidopamine; D000661:Amphetamine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D001058:Apomorphine