Preclinical models of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which pigmented midbrain neurons progressively die producing a dopamine (DA) deficit in the striatum, which manifests as an akinetic movement disorder. Experimentally induced striatal DA depletion in animals is a valid model of parkinsonism. The capacity of certain substances to damage catecholaminergic neurons has been used extensively to produce DA deficiency in animals. This unit describes methods for inducing parkinsonism in nonhuman primates and rodents using the neurotoxins 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Additionally, procedures for evaluating the animals are presented.