Brain research
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Comparative Study
Sleep disturbances in the rotenone animal model of Parkinson disease.
Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the presence of intracytoplasmatic inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Chronic administration of rotenone (RT) produces Parkinson's-like symptoms in rats. Because PD patients have disrupted sleep patterns, we determined if chronic RT administration produces similar changes in rat sleep. ⋯ Dopaminergic cell damage persisted in the L-dopa-RT-infused rats. We conclude that the RT-PD rat model is associated with large long-term sleep disruption, however, the vehicle, DMSO/PEG had as large an effect as RT on sleep, thus changes in sleep cannot be ascribed to loss of dopaminergic cells. Such results question the validity of the RT-PD rat model.