Pharmacological and biochemical interventions of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and sexual mating frequency on idiopathic rat model of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in the nigrostriatal pathway of animals and humans and is responsible for most of the movement disorders, including rigidity. The present study aimed to determine the effect of chronic cigarette smoke, alcohol intake, and frequent sexual mating on 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tertahydro pyridine (MPTP)-induced rat model of PD. After treatment, the effect of these factors was determined by biochemical and molecular evaluation. Dopamine (DA) concentration, antioxidant enzymes, and mitochondrial activity decreased after treatment with cigarette smoke, alcohol, and frequent sexual mating when compared to the values in the control group. Excessive exposure of these factors may lead to neurodegeneration, dopaminergic toxicities, and, ultimately, clinical parkinsonism. Earlier literature from different publisher suggested that nicotine and cigarette smoke can protect the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra against MPTP toxicity. In this study, we assessed the effect of the above three factors on an MPTP-treated rat model and concluded that they have a neurodegenerative effect and were found to be toxic to dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Further investigation is required to understand the exact etiology of clinical parkinsonism.

Keywords: Dopamine; MPTP; mitochondria; nigrostriatal pathway.