Animal Models of Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is late-onset, progressive neurodegenerative, and hypokinetic movement disorder characterized by relatively selective degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and presence of fibrillar cytoplasmic inclusions containing α-synuclein and ubiquitin. Major pathological features of PD include degeneration of dopaminergic neurons coupled with fibrillar intracytoplasmic inclusions known as Lewy bodies, and these Lewy bodies are also found in the hypothalamus, cranial nerve motor nuclei, locus coeruleus, nucleus basalis, cerebral cortex, and central and peripheral components of the ANS. PD is presented with four primary motor manifestations: tremor at rest, rigidity, bradykinesia (or slowing of movement), and postural instability. Initially, not all patients present with all of the classic signs of PD, there may be only one or two and non-motor symptoms includes neuropsychiatric disturbances (i.e., depression, anxiety, and dementia), cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances or hallucinations, autonomic dysfunctions, fatigue, apathy, and orthostatic hypotension. It is estimated that approximately 5–10% of cases are occur or happened due to inheritable genetic mutation. The remaining 90% of newly diagnosed PD cases are of idiopathic origin. PD is a second most common age related neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. PD is thought to affect more than 1 million people in the USA alone, 1 of every 100 individuals, beyond the age of 55 suffered with disease. The prevalence of PD is also increases with age, affecting about 1–2% adults above the age of 60 years and 4% of above the age of 80 years.