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Methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity as a model of Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a high prevalence, approximately 1 % in the elderly population. Numerous studies have demonstrated that methamphetamine (MA) intoxication caused the neurological deficits and nigrostriatal damage seen in Parkinsonian conditions, and subsequent rodent studies have found that neurotoxic binge administration of MA reproduced PD-like features, in terms of its symptomatology and pathology. Several anti-Parkinsonian medications have been shown to attenuate the motor impairments and dopaminergic damage induced by MA. In addition, it has been recognized that mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, pro-apoptosis, proteasomal/autophagic impairment, and neuroinflammation play important roles in inducing MA neurotoxicity. Importantly, MA neurotoxicity has been shown to share a common mechanism of dopaminergic toxicity with that of PD pathogenesis. This review describes the major findings on the neuropathological features and underlying neurotoxic mechanisms induced by MA and compares them with Parkinsonian pathogenesis. Taken together, it is suggested that neurotoxic binge-type administration of MA in rodents is a valid animal model for PD that may provide knowledge on the neuropathogenesis of PD.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a Grant (#19182MFDS410) from the Korea Food and Drug Administration and by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (#NRF-2019R1A2C4070161 and #NRF-2019R1I1A3A01063609), Republic of Korea. The English in this document has been checked by a professional English editor (Editage by CACTUS Communications Inc., Seoul, Republic of korea, www.editage.co.kr, https://app.editage.co.kr/orders/download-files/WQQNG_3 and https://app.editage.co.kr/orders/download-files/WQQNG_9).

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Correspondence to Hyoung-Chun Kim.

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Shin, EJ., Jeong, J.H., Hwang, Y. et al. Methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity as a model of Parkinson’s disease. Arch. Pharm. Res. 44, 668–688 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-021-01341-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-021-01341-7

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