Summary.
The D3 preferring dopamine agonist pramipexole has been shown to attenuate the cell loss induced by levodopa in vitro. Pramipexole was herein evaluated in the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion model to determine its in vivo effect. Rats were treated with pramipexole or saline before and after an intracerebroventricular 6-hydroxydopamine injection. In the preliminary study, 6-hydroxydopamine produced a 68% reduction in striatal dopamine and a 62% loss in tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (THir) cell counts in the substantia nigra. Pramipexole treated animals exhibited a 29% and a 27% reduction in striatal dopamine and THir cell counts, respectively. THir cell counts and striatal dopamine were significantly correlated. In the stereological study, 6-hydroxydopamine reduced THir cell counts by 47% in saline treated animals and 26% in pramipexole treated animals. These data demonstrate that pramipexole attenuates the biochemical and THir cell changes normally produced by 6-hydroxydopamine consistent with its neuroprotective actions in vitro.
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Received May 17, 1999; accepted August 3, 1999
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Vu, T., Ling, Z., Ma, S. et al. Pramipexole attenuates the dopaminergic cell loss induced by intraventricular 6-hydroxydopamine. J Neural Transm 107, 159–176 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020050014
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020050014