title: Neurosteroid allopregnanolone attenuates cognitive dysfunctions in 6-OHDA-induced rat model of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Cognitive deficits have an extensive influence on the quality of life of the Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Previous studies have shown that lack of steroid hormones have an important role in the development of PD. Therefore, in this study the effects of neurosteroid allopregnanolone (Allo) on the PD-induced cognitive disorders were assessed. To simulate PD, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) was injected into the rat's substantia nigra. Allo (5 and 20mg/kg, orally) were administered on the day after the 6-OHDA injection and continued during the entire treatment period (two months). Cognitive behaviors were assessed by Moris water maze (MWM), novel object recognition (NOR) and object location tasks. The data indicated that Allo significantly improved the 6-OHDA-induced cognitive impairment which revealed by the reduction of time spent to find out platform (escape latency) and the increase of retention time in MWM test and also with increase in the exploration index in NOR and object location tasks. Present study strongly supports the pro-cognitive property of allopregnanolone in PD.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nezhadi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sheibani
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Khadijeh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Esmaeilpour
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shabani
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran; Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. Kerman, Iran. Electronic address: semahani@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esmaeili-Mahani
mesh_terms: D018663:Adrenergic Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000633:toxicity; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D011280:Pregnanolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D018663:Adrenergic Agents; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D016627:Oxidopamine; D011280:Pregnanolone
keywords: 6-OHDA; Allopregnanolone; Cognitive behaviors; Learning and memory; Parkinson’s disease