L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias or abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) are a debilitating adverse complication associated with prolonged L-DOPA administration for Parkinson's disease. Few treatments are currently available for dyskinesias. Our recent data showed that nicotine reduced L-DOPA-induced AIMs in parkinsonian animal models. An important question is the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (n...

The development of abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) or dyskinesias is a serious complication of L-DOPA [L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine] therapy for Parkinson's disease. Our previous work had shown that intermittent nicotine dosing reduced L-DOPA-induced dyskinetic-like movements in nonhuman primates. A readily available nicotine formulation is the nicotine patch, which provides a constant so...

Pain sensitivity was assessed in 11 patients (age 60 +/- 10 years) with 'primary' restless leg syndrome (RLS) (disease duration 18 +/- 15 years) and 11 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Stimulus-response functions for pricking pain were obtained with seven calibrated punctate mechanical stimulators activating Adelta-high threshold mechano-nociceptors. Stimuli at the foot were si...

Excessive activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors in the striatum contributes to the pathophysiology of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors regulate striatal excitatory synaptic transmission, and adaptive changes in their function might occur following dopaminergic denervation and chronic levodopa-treatment (L-DOPA). Corticostriatal glutamatergic ...

Serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT(1A)R) agonists have emerged as valuable supplements to l-DOPA therapy, demonstrating that they can decrease side effects and enhance motor function in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) and human PD patients. The precise mechanism by which these receptors act remains unknown and there is limited information on how 5-HT(1A)R stimulation impacts striatal dopamin...

Sixty eight women referred for treatment of hyperprolactinaemia entered a three year follow up study to determine the clinical and endocrine course of the disease and its association with microadenoma of the pituitary. Details recorded before treatment included medical history, gonadotrophin and ovarian hormonal concentrations, and release of prolactin in response to protirelin (thyrotrophin re...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the traditional Japanese medicine yokukansan (YKS) on the function of dopamine (DA) in the rat nigrostriatal system. Unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions were produced in the rat nigrostriatal system. Despite a marked loss in the striatal immunoreactivity of tyrosine hydroxylase on the lesion side, striatal serotonin (5-HT) immunore...

In Parkinson's disease (PD), dopaminergic therapies are often associated with the development of motor complications. Attention has therefore been focused on the use of non-dopaminergic drugs. This study developed a new behavioural method capable of demonstrating the added value of combining adenosinergic and glutamatergic receptor antagonists in unilateral 6-OHDA lesioned rats. Rats were dosed...

Previous studies have reported elevated levels of biogenic aldehydes in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In the brain, aldehydes are primarily detoxified by aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH). Reduced ALDH1 expression in surviving midbrain dopamine neurons has been reported in brains of patients who died with PD. In addition, impaired complex I activity, which is well documente...

BACKGROUND Chronic administration of levodopa in Parkinson's disease leads to debilitating involuntary movements, termed levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). The pathogenesis of LID is poorly understood. Previous research has shown that histamine H2 receptors are highly expressed in the input (striatum) and output (globus pallidus, substantia nigra) regions of the basal ganglia, particularly in t...