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Protective effect of caffeine against neurodegeneration in a model of Parkinson's disease in rat: behavioral and histochemical evidence.

Joghataie MT, Roghani M, Negahdar F, Hashemi L

Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated an inverse association between coffee consumption and Parkinson's disease (PD). This study was designed to investigate the beneficial effect of caffeine at a dose comparable to that of human exposure in a model of PD. For this purpose, unilateral intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats were pretreated with caffeine (20 mg/kg; i.p.) 1 h before surgery and treated twice a day (10 mg/kg) for 1 month. Apomorphine-induced rotations and number of Nissl-stained neurons of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) were counted. The results demonstrated that caffeine administration for 1 month could attenuate the rotational behavior in lesioned rats and protect the neurons of SNC against 6-OHDA toxicity.

Published 15 November 2004 in Parkinsonism Relat Disord, 10(8): 465-8.
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