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Donato A. Di Monte, MD Research from NIEHS-supported investigators at the Parkinson’s Institute suggests that nicotine treatment protects against the type of brain damage that occurs in Parkinson’s disease. In the study, squirrel monkeys were treated with MPTP to induce Parkinson-like symptoms, a widely accepted animal model of Parkinson’s disease. Animals that were also given nicotine in their drinking water over a period of six months had 25 percent less damage from the MPTP treatment than those not receiving nicotine. Blood nicotine levels were within the range seen in cigarette smokers. These findings mirror human epidemiologic studies that suggest that smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than non-smokers. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of small clusters of dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra region of the brain. The gradual loss of these cells results in the reduction of dopamine, a critical neurotransmitter involved in normal voluntary movement. Other research suggests that nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine. These laboratory results suggest that nicotine acts to restore or maintain dopamine production in the substantia nigra region of the brain. Typically, symptoms in Parkinson’s patients are not seen until 80-90% of dopamine producing cells have been destroyed. Therefore if nicotine or similar acting compounds can reduce cell loss by 25% in humans, treatment could alleviate a great deal of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. These data support the need for additional research on nicotine as a potential therapeutic agent for Parkinson’s disease. Citation: Quik M, Parameswaran N, McCallum SE, Bordia T, Bao S, McCormack A, Kim A, Tyndale RF, Langston JW, Di Monte DA. Chronic oral nicotine treatment protects against striatal degeneration in MPTP-treated primates. J Neurochem. 2006 Sep;98(6):1866-75. |
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