Search results for "Dopamine"

Small Extracellular Vesicles Secreted by Region-specific Astrocytes Ameliorate the Mitochondrial Function in a Cellular Model of Parkinson’s Disease

2021

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as powerful players in cell-to-cell communication both in health and diseased brain. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) – characterized by selective dopaminergic (DAergic) neuron death in ventral midbrain (VMB) and degeneration of DAergic terminals in striatum (STR) – astrocytes (AS) exert dual harmful/protective functions. When activated by chemokine CCL3, AS promote a robust DAergic neuroprotection both in cellular and pre-clinical models of PD, with mechanisms not fully elucidated. Here we used a combination of techniques to characterize AS-EVs derived from VMB and STR, and investigated their potential to exert neuroprotection. First, we show th…

Drosophila DJ-1 mutants are sensitive to oxidative stress and show reduced lifespan and motor deficits.

2007

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder caused by the selective and massive loss of dopaminergic neurons (DA) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). DJ-1 loss-of-function mutations are involved in inherited early-onset PD forms and result in dysfunction of the oxidative stress response. In mice models, DJ-1 loss provokes sensitivity to oxidative insults but does not produce neurodegeneration. Similar results have been found when analyzing Drosophila mutants for the DJ-1 orthologous genes, DJ-1alpha and DJ-1beta. Here, we report the analysis of two new mutations for the Drosophila DJ-1 genes. Both ubiquitous induction of DJ-1alpha knockdown by RNAi and loss of funct…

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Parkinson’s disease

2007

Parkinson's disease (PD) is known to be a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by a selective degeneration of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). A large body of experimental evidence indicates that the factors involved in the pathogenesis of this disease are several, occurring inside and outside the DAergic neuron. Recently, the role of the neuron–glia interaction and the inflammatory process, in particular, has been the object of intense study by the research community. It seems to represent a new therapeutic approach opportunity for this neurological disorder. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that the cyclooxygenase type 2 (COX-…

Drosophila Models of Parkinson's Disease: Discovering Relevant Pathways and Novel Therapeutic Strategies

2010

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is mainly characterized by the selective and progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, accompanied by locomotor defects. Although most PD cases are sporadic, several genes are associated with rare familial forms of the disease. Analyses of their function have provided important insights into the disease process, demonstrating that three types of cellular defects are mainly involved in the formation and/or progression of PD: abnormal protein aggregation, oxidative damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction. These studies have been mainly performed in PD models created in mice, fruit flies, and worms. Among them, Dro…

A Diet for Dopaminergic Neurons?

2009

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, which unfortunately is still fatal. Since the discovery of dopamine (DA) neuronal cell loss within the substantia nigra in PD, the past decades have seen the understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the degenerative process advance at a very impressive rate. Nevertheless, there is at present no cure for PD. Although there are no proven therapies for prevention, a large body of evidence from animal studies has highlighted the paramount role of dietary factors in counteracting DA degeneration. Consistently, associations between the risk of developing PD and the intake of nutrients, individual fo…

Decision letter: Differential dopaminergic modulation of spontaneous cortico–subthalamic activity in Parkinson’s disease

2021

Cortical beta burst dynamics are altered in Parkinson's disease but normalized by deep brain stimulation

2022

Funding Information: Amande Pauls was supported by a personal grant from the University of Helsinki . Olesia Korsun was supported by the Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation , the Orion Research Foundation , the Finnish Parkinson Foundation and the Finnish Brain Foundation . Mia Liljeström was supported by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland , the Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation , and the Finnish Cultural Foundation . Eero Pekkonen was supported by Finnish Government research funding ( TYH- fund ). Hanna Renvall was supported by the Academy of Finland (grant number 321460 ) and Paulo Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Exaggerated subthalamic beta oscillatory activity …

Serotonin–dopamine interaction: electrophysiological evidence

2008

In this review, the most relevant data regarding serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT)/dopamine (DA) interaction in the brain, as studied by both in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological methods, are reported and discussed. The bulk of neuroanatomical data available clearly indicate that DA-containing neurons in the brain receive a prominent innervation from 5-HT originating in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem. Furthermore, this modulation seems to be reciprocal; DA neurons innervate the raphe nuclei and exert a tonic excitatory effect on them. Compelling electrophysiological data show that 5-HT can exert complex effects on the electrical activity of midbrain DA neurons mediated by the va…

A subset of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons responds to acute ethanol

2015

The mechanisms by which alcohol drinking promotes addiction in humans and self-administration in rodents remain obscure, but it is well known that alcohol can enhance dopamine (DA) neurotransmission from neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increase DA levels within the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. We recorded from identified DA neuronal cell bodies within ventral midbrain slices prepared from a transgenic mouse line (TH-GFP) using long-term stable extracellular recordings in a variety of locations and carefully mapped the responses to applied ethanol (EtOH). We identified a subset of DA neurons in the medial VTA located within the rostral linear and interfascicular n…

Pisa syndrome after rasagiline therapy in a patient with Parkinson’s disease

2015

Dear Editor, We have read with interest comments by Solla et al. [1] regarding our Letter to the Editor published in NeurologicalSciences titled ‘‘Insidious onset of Pisa Syndrome afterrasagiline therapy in a patient with Parkinson’s Disease’’[2]. We thank the authors for their interest in our paper, but we think it is necessary to make some clarifications regarding the temporal relationship between the onset of Pisa Syndrome (PS) and rasagiline therapy. PS occurred in fact after and not before rasagiline treatment as stated by Solla et al. In particular, PS occurred after a time interval of 6–12 months and anyway after rasagiline was added to patient’s therapy. This long time interval is o…