BACKGROUND Pain constitutes the major non motor syndrome in Parkinson's disease (PD) and includes neuropathic pain; however current drug therapies used to alleviate it have only limited efficacy. This is probably due to poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying it. AIMS We investigated a major class of trigeminal neuropathic pain, dynamic mechanical allodynia (DMA), in a rat model of PD...

The Density Functional Theory (DFT) and the Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) calculations basedmethod B3LYP/6-31G were carried out to study the interaction of Dopamine with carbon nanotube.The nanotube used in this study, includes 60 C atoms (6, 6) type. Relative and formation energies ofcompounds, Muliken charges, occupancy, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and thelowest unoccupied mole...

OBJECTIVE(S) Neuroinflammation in Parkinson disease (PD) is associated with glial cells activation and production of different inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we investigated the effect of chronic administration of 8-OH-DPAT on 6-OHDA-induced catalepsy and levels of inflammatory cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). MATERIALS AND METHODS Catalepsy was induced by unilateral infusion o...

Six new chromones, 6-methoxy-2-[2-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyllchromone (2), 6,8-dihydroxy-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone (3), 6-hydroxy-2-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]chromone (4), 6-hydroxy-2-[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]chromone (5), 7-hydroxy-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone (6), and 6-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone (7) were isolated from the ether extract of agarwood in addition to a known ...

We explored the impact of Nox-2 in modulating inflammatory-mediated microglial responses in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) model. Nox1 and Nox2 gene expression were found to increase in striatum, whereas a marked increase of Nox2 expression was observed in substantia nigra (SN) of wild-type (wt) mice after PD induction. Gp91(phox-/-) 6-OHDA-lesioned mice exhibit...

Tobacco and alcohol are the most commonly used drugs of abuse and show the most serious comorbidity. The mesolimbic dopamine system contributes significantly to nicotine and ethanol reinforcement, but the underlying cellular signaling mechanisms are poorly understood. Nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors are highly expressed on ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, with relatively ...

Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in a large number of physiological processes including neuroendocrine regulation. Some pharmacological studies have shown that different subtypes of glutamate receptor, such as the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methy-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, are involved in stress-induced adrenocorticotropin (...

Ketamine is a rapidly acting antidepressant in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully established, inquiry to date has focused on the triggering of synaptogenesis transduction pathways via glutamatergic mechanisms. Preclinical data suggest that blockade of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu2/3) receptors shares many overlappi...

Levodopa dose and severity of Parkinson's disease (PD) are recognized risk factors for levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in humans. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of these variables to predict severity of LID in a rat model of PD. Varied concentrations of 6-hydroxy-dopamine were injected into the midbrain to produce wide ranges of dopamine depletion in striatum. Th...

Nature of adrenergic mechanisms contributing to anti-inflammatory effect of Picrorhiza kurroa suggested from earlier studies was explored in Wistar albino rats. Water soluble fraction of alcoholic extract of rhizomes (PK) potentiated castor oil-catharsis on oral administration but direct subplanter PK-injections failed to exhibit any local irritancy and oedema. Propranolol pretreatment countera...