The CB(1) antagonist rimonabant is adjunctively therapeutic as well as monotherapeutic in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.
Acute injections of 8mg/kg of 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine (l-DOPA) or 0.05mg/kg rimonabant equally improved contralateral forepaw stepping in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions, and their combination improved stepping more than either drug alone. However, 0.05mg/kg rimonabant did not alter the changes in stepping produced by acute injections of a dyskinesic dose of 35mg/kg l-DOPA. Thus, not only is a cannabinoid antagonist monotherapeutic in this animal model of Parkinson's disease, but it also enhances the therapeutic effect of a moderate, but not a high, dose of l-DOPA.
Program in Neuroscience, Bates College, Lewiston, ME 04240, United States. jkelsey@bates.edu
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D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018476:Hypokinesia / Q000188:drug therapy; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000633:toxicity; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D000077285:Rimonabant
D010880:Piperidines; D011720:Pyrazoles; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; D007980:Levodopa; D016627:Oxidopamine; D000077285:Rimonabant