Comparison of Assessing the Success of Cell Transplantation in Experimental Parkinson by Measuring Homocysteine with Behavioral Symptoms

Parkinson is a brain’s degenerative disease. Evidence shows that the levels of homocysteine increases in the Parkinson's disease. In this study, the success of cell transplantation was evaluated by comparison between serum homocysteine levels and behavioral symptoms in experimentally Parkinson's induced by 6-hydroxy dopamine (6- OHDA).
This experimental study was conducted in 2014 on male Wistar rats. The rats initially were Parkinsonism through stereotaxic 6- OHDA microinjection into right middle frontal areas of right hemisphere. Parkinson's was confirmed by apomorphine-induced rotation test. Then the rats treated with stem cell transplantation and the effect of treatment was assessed again. The total level of homocysteine was measured before, six weeks after 6- HDOA injection and ten weeks after cell transplantation. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests, ANOVA and Tukey test.
The total level of homocysteine didn’t change significantly in rats with higher number of rotations. But ten weeks after cell transplantation, the level of homocysteine decreased significantly.
Considering the direct correlation between the severity of rotational behavior and the degree of lesion in the substantia nigra (SN), our data indicate that higher tHcy values can predict higher SN dopaminergic neurodegeneration.