Turkish Neurosurgery 2009 , Vol 19 , Num 3
Investigation of Neuroprotective Effects of Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors in the 6-Hydroxydopamine Induced Rat Parkinson Model
Bülent GÖREN1, Zehra MİMBAY2, Nebahat BİLİCİ3, Mehmet ZARİFOĞLU4, Erhan OĞUL5, Ender KORFALI6
1Uludag University School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Bursa, Turkey
2Uludag University School of Medicine, Department of Histology & Embryology, Bursa, Turkey
3,4,5Uludag University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Bursa, Turkey
6Uludag University School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Bursa, Turkey
AIM: Recent experimental and clinical studies on Parkinson's disease point out the pivotal role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration and the possible positive effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapies. Our aim in this study was to investigate the preventive effects of nonsteroidal anti–inflammatory drugs in the 6–hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced rat model of Parkinson's disease.

MATERIAL and METHODS: Twenty-one female Wistar-Albino rats (200-250g) were used in this study. The rats were divided in three groups: Saline group (n: 7, 2 ml), Acetylsalicylic acid group (n: 7, 100 mg/kg), and Meloxicam group (n: 7, 50 mg/kg). An hour after administration, the rats received a unilateral intranigral injection of 6-OHDA to produce the Parkinson model lesion. Rotational tests were performed two weeks later as follow-up. Immunohistochemical tests were performed in all groups to determine the severity of the lesion in the substantia nigra.

RESULTS: Administration of drugs an hour before the lesions were created did not protect the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra.

CONCLUSION: Oral usage of low repeated doses of nonsteroidal anti–inflammatory drugs may possibly slow down the progression of the disease. Keywords : 6–OHDA, NSAID, Parkinson model, Rat

Corresponding author : Bülent Gören, bgoren@uludag.edu.tr