Research article summary (published 18 Mar 2009):

Spinal cord stimulation restores locomotion in animal models of Parkinson's disease.

Full Abstract

Dopamine replacement therapy is useful for treating motor symptoms in the early phase of Parkinson's disease, but it is less effective in the long term. Electrical deep-brain stimulation is a valuable complement to pharmacological treatment but involves a highly invasive surgical procedure. We found that epidural electrical stimulation of the dorsal columns in the spinal cord restores locomotion in both acute pharmacologically induced dopamine-depleted mice and in chronic 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. The functional recovery was paralleled by a disruption of aberrant low-frequency synchronous corticostriatal oscillations, leading to the emergence of neuronal activity patterns that resemble the state normally preceding spontaneous initiation of locomotion. We propose that dorsal column stimulation might become an efficient and less invasive alternative for treatment of Parkinson's disease in the future.

Author information

Author/s: Fuentes, Romulo (R); Petersson, Per (P); Siesser, William B (WB); Caron, Marc G (MG); Nicolelis, Miguel A L (MA);

Affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. fuentes(-atsign-)neuro.duke.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Science (New York, N.Y.) (Science), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Mar; vol 323 (issue 5921) : pp 1578-82

Dates: Created 2009/03/20; Completed 2009/03/30; Revised 2009/04/17;

PMID: 19299613, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 4/20/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Afferent Pathways - physiology Animals Combined Modality Therapy Corpus Striatum - physiopathology Dopamine - metabolism Electric Stimulation Therapy Electrodes, Implanted Electrophysiological Phenomena Humans Levodopa - administration & dosage; therapeutic use Locomotion

Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Mice, Knockout Motor Cortex - physiopathology Neurons - physiology Oxidopamine - pharmacology Parkinson Disease - physiopathology; therapy Parkinsonian Disorders - physiopathology; therapy Rats Spinal Cord - physiology alpha-Methyltyrosine - pharmacology

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

Associated Chemicals: Levodopa (0) ; Oxidopamine (1199-18-4) ; Dopamine (51-61-6) ; alpha-Methyltyrosine (658-48-0)

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