Oral health-related quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting the quality of life. Due to a worsening of oral health in PD patients with the progression of the disease, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) could be impaired as well. Objectives: To assess whether PD patients in The Netherlands experience worse OHRQoL...

Anti-Parkinson effects of a selective alpha2C-adrenoceptor antagonist in the MPTP marmoset model

Current dopamine replacement therapies, in Parkinson's disease (PD), result in aversive side effects and rapid drug dose escalation over time. Therefore, a non-dopaminergic treatment would be an advantageous supplement to lower the dose of dopamine replacement treatment postponing the occurrence of side effects. The noradrenergic system plays an...

Dose-dependent dopaminergic modulation of reward-based learning in Parkinson's disease

Learning to select optimal behavior in new and uncertain situations is a crucial aspect of living and requires the ability to quickly associate stimuli with actions that lead to rewarding outcomes. Mathematical models of reinforcement-based learning to select rewarding actions distinguish between (1) the formation of stimulus-action-reward...

Neuroprotective effects of riluzole in early phase Parkinson's disease on clinically relevant parameters in the marmoset MPTP model

The present study evaluates neuroprotection in a marmoset MPTP (1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) model representing early Parkinson's disease (PD). The anti-glutamatergic compound riluzole is used as a model compound for neuroprotection. The compound is one of the few protective compounds used in the clinic for a neurodegenerative disorder....

REM sleep behavior disorder in the marmoset MPTP model of early Parkinson disease

Study Objectives: Sleep problems are a common phenomenon in most neurological and psychiatric diseases. In Parkinson disease (PD), for instance, sleep problems may be the most common and burdensome non-motor symptoms in addition to the well-described classical motor symptoms. Since sleep disturbances generally become apparent in the disease...

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus improves reward-based decision-learning in Parkinson’s disease

Recently, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been shown to be critically involved in decision-making, action selection, and motor control. Here we investigate the effect of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN on reward-based decision-learning in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We determined computational measures of outcome...

Modelling early stage Parkinson's disease in mice and marmosets

Stress proteins in CNS inflammation

Stress proteins or heat shock proteins (HSPs) are ubiquitous cellular components that have long been known to act as molecular chaperones. By assisting proper folding and transport of proteins, and by assisting in the degradation of aberrant proteins, they play key roles in cellular metabolism. The frequent accumulation of insoluble protein...

Therapeutic effects of Δ9-THC and modafinil in a marmoset Parkinson model

Current therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) like l-dopa and dopamine (DA) agonists have declined efficacy after long term use. Therefore, research towards supplementary or alternative medication is needed. The implementation in PD can be expedited by application of compounds already used in the clinic. In this study the therapeutic effects of...

Neuroprotective effects of modafinil in a marmoset Parkinson model: Behavioral and neurochemical aspects

The vigilance-enhancing agent modafinil has neuroprotective properties: it prevents striatal ischemic injury, nigrostriatal pathway deterioration after partial transsection and intoxication with 1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. The present study determines the protective effects of modafinil in the marmoset 1-methyl-1,2,3,6...

Inhibition of microglial inflammation by the MLK inhibitor CEP-1347

CEP-1347 is a potent inhibitor of the mixed lineage kinases (MLKs), a distinct family of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK). It blocks the activation of the c-Jun/JNK apoptotic pathway in neurons exposed to various stressors and attenuates neurodegeneration in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Microglial activation...

Broad expression of Toll-like receptors in the human central nervous system

The family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) plays a key role in controlling innate immune responses to a wide variety of pathogen-associated molecules. In this study we investigated expression of TLRs in vitro by purified human microglia, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, and in vivo by immunohistochemical examination of brain and spinal cord...

Prolonged duration of standing up is an early dopa-sensitive abnormality in Parkinson's disease

We studied the influence of dopaminergic medication on the duration of standing up, static posture and gait in five patients with parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1.5 to 3) and four healthy controls, using an optoelectronic camera system. Duration of standing up was prolonged in patients, while static posture and gait were largely...

Axonal transport of manganese and its relevance to selective neurotoxicity in the rat basal ganglia

The present study provides evidence for anterograde axonal transport of managanese (Mn) in the basal ganglia. Microinjections of 54Mn into rat substantia nigra or stratum revealed region-specific accumulation and retention of the isotope in globus pallidus, striatum, thalamus and substantia nigra for up to a least 48 or 72 h respectively. Within...