Sunday 14 April 2013

Rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in an alpha-synuclein mouse model of Parkinson's disease


PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e60691. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060691. Epub 2013 Apr 3.
Petit GH, Berkovich E, Hickery M, Kallunki P, Fog K, Fitzer-Attas C, Brundin P.

Source
Neuronal Survival Unit, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC B11, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Abstract
Impaired olfaction is an early pre-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease. The neuropathology underlying olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson's disease is unknown, however α-synuclein accumulation/aggregation and altered neurogenesis might play a role. We characterized olfactory deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease expressing human wild-type α-synuclein under the control of the mouse α-synuclein promoter. Preliminary clinical observations suggest that rasagiline, a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor, improves olfaction in Parkinson's disease. We therefore examined whether rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in this Parkinson's disease model and investigated the role of olfactory bulb neurogenesis. α-Synuclein mice were progressively impaired in their ability to detect odors, to discriminate between odors, and exhibited alterations in short-term olfactory memory. Rasagiline treatment rescued odor detection and odor discrimination abilities. However, rasagiline did not affect short-term olfactory memory. Finally, olfactory changes were not coupled to alterations in olfactory bulb neurogenesis. We conclude that rasagiline reverses select olfactory deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The findings correlate with preliminary clinical observations suggesting that rasagiline ameliorates olfactory deficits in Parkinson's disease.

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