Comparative Study of the Effects of PACAP in Young, Aging, and Castrated Males in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
We have previously shown that PACAP ameliorates the neurological symptoms and reduces the dopaminergic cell loss in young male rats, in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced lesion of the substantia nigra, a model of Parkinson's disease. In the present study, we compared the effects of PACAP in young, aging, and castrated males. Our results show that PACAP significantly reduced the dopaminergic cell loss in young and aging males. In castrated males, 6-OHDA did not induce such a severe cell loss, and it was not altered by PACAP. However, PACAP effectively ameliorated behavioral symptoms in all groups, with a degree of recovery depending on age and endocrine status
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