The Progressive BSSG Rat Model of Parkinson's: Recapitulating Multiple Key Features of the Human Disease.

ABSTRACT: The development of effective neuroprotective therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) has been severely hindered by the notable lack of an appropriate animal model for preclinical screening. Indeed, most models currently available are either acute in nature or fail to recapitulate all characteristic features of the disease. Here, we present a novel progressive model of PD, with behavioural and cellular features that closely approximate those observed in patients. Chronic exposure to dietary phytosterol glucosides has been found to be neurotoxic. When fed to rats, β-sitosterol β-d-glucoside (BSSG) triggers the progressive development of parkinsonism, with clinical signs and histopathology beginning to appear following cessation of exposure to the neurotoxic insult and continuing to develop ov

SUBMITTER: Van Kampen JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4595214 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature