No abstract available.
Animals ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Neurons* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Neurons* ; Oxidopamine* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra*

Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra pars compacta leading to the impairment of motor functions. Recent genetic studies have uncovered several genes involved in inherited forms of the disease. These gene products are likely to be implicated in the biochemical pathways underlying the etiology of sporadic PD. Our review discusses the pathogenetic mechanisms of the mutated genes.
Dopaminergic Neurons ; Genetics ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Parkinson Disease* ; Substantia Nigra

An apomorphine-induced rotational test has been used in the evaluation of rat parkinsonian models lesioned with neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Previous parkinsonian rat models have generally been characterized by unilateral destruction of both nigrosriatal pathway and mesolimbic pathway using 6-OHDA. The authors created partial lesioned rat parkinsonian models using 6-OHDA in which there is destruction of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway and sparing of the mesolimbic pathway. Rats with unilateral lesions of the substantia nigra pars compacta(SNpc) were tested for rotational asymmetry using a cylindrical rotometer device with flat bottom(diameter, 30.5cm) after administration of apomorphine. After completion of the rotation test, the animals were sacrificed and their brains were immunolabeled for tyrosine hydroxylase(TH). Analysis of anatomical and behavioral data suggests that the pattern of rotation(pivotal rotation) is more reliable index for loss of TH-immunoreactive neurons in lesioned SNpc than the total number of rotational responses to apomorphine. The exact cause of the abnormal ipsiversive rotation which some rats showed is unclear. Further research should be pursued to explain this finding.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Brain ; Models, Animal ; Neurons ; Oxidopamine* ; Parkinson Disease ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Tyrosine

To determine whether toxic and trace elements may play -a role as ail etiologic factor in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD), we measured the levels of toxic and trace elements in the hair from 56 PD patients and 50 normal controls with atomic absorption spectrophotometer In the hair of PD, the zinc concentration showed a significantly lower amount (p=O. 0001) and the concentrations of lead, cad mium, and copper showed a significantly larger amount (Pb, Cd, Cu : p=0.0012, 0. 0444, 0.0286) compared with those of the normal controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups in concentrations of mercury, manganese, iron and aluminum. The levels of each of the toxic and trace elements measured had no significant relationship with Hoehn-Yahr stage, age or the duration of disease. Our data was inconsistent with previous results that analysed the levels of toxic and trace elements in substantia nigra of parkinsonian patients. Due to significant differences in the levels of zinc, copper, lead and cadmium between PD and normal control group, there may be a relationship between PD and those toxic and trace elements. Hair analysis can be so easily applied in clinical practice that a large scale study should be attempted to further evaluate the relationship between trace elements and PD.
Absorption ; Aluminum ; Cadmium ; Copper ; Hair* ; Humans ; Iron ; Manganese ; Parkinson Disease* ; Substantia Nigra ; Trace Elements ; Zinc

We describe two patients with speech-induced oromandibular dystonia. One patient showed mainly jaw dystonia, while the other patient had lingual dystonia. A brain MRI revealed acute cerebral infarctions in the midbrain near the substantia nigra in the patient with jaw dystonia, while the patient with the lingual dystonia showed no structural lesions. Symptoms in both patients were partly improved with sensory tricks, such as chewing gum or holding a candy in their mouths. Their symptoms were completely recovered with anticholinergic therapy.
Brain ; Candy ; Cerebral Infarction ; Chewing Gum ; Dystonia* ; Humans ; Jaw ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mesencephalon ; Mouth ; Substantia Nigra

It is suggested that calbindin buffers the concentration of intracellular calcium as the calcium binding protein in the cell. In the neurodegerative disease such as Parkinsonian disease, Huntington 'disease, Alzheimer 'disease there is some change of calbindin. The calcium mediated neurotoxicity begins due to the decrease of calbindin gene in those disease. In this study the substantia nigra of the normal rat is immunostained with anti -calbindin antibody, the morphological characteristics and distribution of calbindin positive neurons are studied to confirm the suggestive neuroprotective role of calbindin in the Parkinsonian disease. In the substantia nigra tissues of rats, calbindin was immunostained in the cell body and cellular processes of the polygonal or ovoid neurons. The calbindin immumostained neurons were distributed mainly in the substantia nigra lateralis than substantia nigra compacta and have even distribution from cephalic section to caudal section. The degree of calbindin -immunostaining was similar from medial area to lateral area, from ventral area to dorsal area in the one section of substantia nigra. These results support the potentiative neuroprotective role of calbindin in the Parkinsonian disease.
Animals ; Buffers ; Calbindins* ; Calcium ; Carrier Proteins ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neurons* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra*

To clarify neuronal connection of the medial rectus muscle at brain stem, Bartha strain of the psecudorabies virus(PRV-Ba) and cholera toxin-horeserdish peroxidase(CT-HRP) was injected into medial rectus muscle of the rat. About 84 hours after PRV or CT-HRP injection, the brain was removed and processed immunohistochemical stain for PRV-Ba and neurohistochemical stain for CT-HRP using tetramethyl benzidine. The CT-HRP positive reaction was only present in ipsilateral oculomotor nucleus, contralateral abducence nucleus and bilaterally in rostral interstitial nucleus of medial longitudinal fasciculus, olivary pretectal nucleus, medial and superior vestibular nucleus, nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, prerubral field, nucleus Darkschewitsch, lateral substantia nigra, terminal nucleus of accessory nucleus, dorsal raphenucleus, locus ceruleus and pontime reticular formation. This study confirmed that both oculomotor nucleus and abducence nucleus were connected with each other through the medial longitudinal fasciculus, and neuronal connection of the medial rectus muscle in the rat brain stem.
Animals ; Brain Stem* ; Brain* ; Cholera ; Locus Coeruleus ; Neurons ; Rats* ; Reticular Formation ; Substantia Nigra

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous T2 relaxometry studies have provided evidence for regional brain iron deficiency in patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS). Measurement of the iron content in several brain regions, and in particular the substantia nigra (SN), in early- and late-onset RLS patients using T2 relaxometry have yielded inconsistent results. In this study the regional iron content was assessed in patients with early- and late-onset RLS using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and compared the results with those in controls. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with idiopathic RLS (20 with early onset and 17 with late onset) and 40 control subjects were studied using a 3.0-tesla MRI with a gradient-echo sampling of free induction decay and echo pulse sequence. The regions of interest in the brain were measured independently by two trained analysts using software known as medical image processing, analysis, and visualization. The results were compared and a correlation analysis was conducted to investigate which brain areas were related to RLS clinical variables. RESULTS: The iron index in the SN was significantly lower in patients with late-onset RLS than in controls (p=0.034), while in patients with early-onset RLS there was no significant difference. There was no significant correlation between the SN iron index of the late-onset RLS group and clinical variables such as disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: Late-onset RLS is associated with decreased iron content in the SN. This finding supports the hypothesis that regional brain iron deficiency plays a role in the pathophysiology of late-onset RLS.
Brain* ; Humans ; Iron ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Red Nucleus ; Restless Legs Syndrome* ; Substantia Nigra

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of ipsilateral subthalamic nucleus(STN) lesioning on the spontaneous behavioral changes and the alteration of neuronal activities of deep cerebral nuclei in the rat parkinsonian model with 6-hydroxydopamine(6-OHDA). METHODS: To identify the spontaneous behavioral changes, apomorphine-induced rotational test and forepaw adjusting step were performed. We subsequently investigated the alteration of neuronal activities in the substantia nigra pars reticulata(SNpr) and globus pallidus(GP), in order to compare them with the behavioral changes in rat parkinsonian models. RESULTS: The STN lesioning in the rat parkinsonian model clearly improved behavioral changes. Compared to the normal control rats, rat PD models exhibited a significant increase in mean firing rates and the percentage of bursting neurons in the STN and SNpr. In the STN-lesioned rat PD models, mean firing rates and the percentage of bursting neurons in the SNpr were reduced and those in the GP increased. CONCLUSION: STN lesioning induced behavior improvement in rat parkinsonian models seems to be consistent with the surgical outcomes of the STN stimulation therapy in advanced Parkinsonn's disease(PD). The alteration of the neuronal activities in the SNpr and GP suggests that these sites are responsible for the improvement of parkinsonian motor symptoms observed following STN lesioning in rat parkinsonian models. The significance of bursting activity in the SNpr and GP remains obscure. Further study is necessary to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanism of PD.
Animals ; Fires ; Globus Pallidus ; Kainic Acid* ; Neurons* ; Oxidopamine* ; Parkinson Disease ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Subthalamic Nucleus