Nigral degeneration

McNaught, K. S., L. M. Bjorklund, R. Belizaire et al. Proteasome inhibition causes nigral degeneration with inclusion bodies in rats. 13(11), 2002 1437-41. 

Mohanakumar KP, de Bartolomeis A, Wu RM, Yeh KJ, Stemberger LM, Peng SY, Murphy DL, Chiueh CC. Ferrous-citrate complex and nigral degeneration evidence for free-radical formation and lipid peroxidation. Ann NY Acad Sci 1994 ... 

Histochemical fluorescent techniques have revealed the existence in most mammalian species of a nigro-striatal neuron system, containing dopamine, with cell bodies in the substantia nigra and axon terminations in the striatum [99-104]. These structures are confirmed by electron microscopic studies of the terminal boutons in the striatum which contain dense dopamine vesicles [105]. Striatal dopamine levels were reduced after experimental brain stem lesions which resulted in nigral degeneration [106-108], while removal of the caudate and putamen produced similar decreases together with nigral... 

The pathological characteristic of Parkinson s disease is the selective degeneration of dopamine neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. The mechanism for the loss of neurons remains to be elucidated, and recently apoptosis has been proposed as a death process in Parkinson s disease. For example, the level of a product of the oxidative stress, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal protein adduct, was found to increase in the nigral neurons of parkinsonian brains. Peroxynitrite (see Figure 13.6) has been proposed to be involved in the neuronal cell death in some neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

Mandel, R. J. et al. (1997). Midbrain injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus encoding rat glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor protects nigral neurons in a progressive 6-hydroxydopamine-induced degeneration model of Parkinson s disease in rats. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94(25), 14083-14088. 

Ichitani Y, Okamura H, Matsumoto Y, Nagatsu I, Ibata Y (1991) Degeneration of the nigral dopamine neurons after 6-hydroxydopamine injection into the rat striatum. Brain Res 549 350-353. 

Kirik D, Winkler C, Bjorklund A (2001) Growth and functional efficacy of intrastriatal nigral transplants depends on the extent of nigrostriatal degeneration. J Neurosci 27 2889-2896. 

However, none of the generated mice showed a major degeneration in the nigrostriatal pathway although some showed a moderate loss of nigral DA neurons. 

McCormack AL, Tliimchelvam M, Manning-Bog AB, Tliiffault C, Langston JW, Cory-Slechta DA, Di Monte DA (2002) Environmental risk factors and Par kinson s disease Selective degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neur ons caused by tire herbicide par aquat. Neurobiol Dis 10 119-127. 

DeGiorgio LA, Dibinis C, Milner TA, Saji M, Volpe BT (1998) Histological and temporal characteristics of nigral transneuronal degeneration after striatal injury. Brain Res 795 1-9. 

Riederer P, Wuketich S (1976) Time course of nigrostriatal degeneration in Parkinson s disease. J Neural Transm 38 277-301 Rinne JO, Roytta M, Paljarvi L, Rummukainen J, Rinne UK (1991) Selegiline (deprenyl) treatment and death of nigral neurons in Parkinson s disease. Neurology 41 859-861... 

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