Faculty of Science Presentations

Does Ubisol-Q10 affect the behavioural symptoms in a paraquat rat model of Parkinson's disease?

Marisa L. Vennettilli, University of WindsorFollow

Type of Proposal

Oral presentation

Streaming Media

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Pandey

Start Date

24-3-2015 1:00 PM

End Date

24-3-2015 1:50 PM

Importance of the Project

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the world. According to the Parkinson’s Medicines in Development Report, as many as 1.5 million are affected by PD and about 60,000 people are newly diagnosed each year. This disease is characterized by postural instability and motor dysfunction such as loss of balance, tremors and slowness of movement. It is a progressive disease, where cognitive functions begin to deplete over time. These identifiable early-onset symptoms can be tracked to determine the efficiency of applied treatments. This means a cure for this disease is growing increasingly important with the aging population. Therefore, finding a solution is critical to halt this neurodegenerative disease. This research aims to determine a cure for PD and to identify whether the pharmacological treatment related to this disease aide the motor function in a rat model. Seeing a reduction in the physical symptoms means there are a reduced number of neurons degenerating in the central nervous system.

Existing State of Knowledge

Currently, much of the research has identified that levodopa (L-DOPA), a precursor to dopamine, is a commonly used treatment. Ehringer and his team has discovered that the depletion of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, is responsible for the onset of PD. Levodopa is able to cross the blood brain barrier and temporarily restore the levels of dopamine and partially reduce the loss of motor function. The disease begins with the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. This then leads to a dopamine deficit in the basal ganglia and results in motor dysfunction. It is thought that oxidative stress could be driving this degeneration of neurons; it is thought that an antioxidant may be an effective treatment. An antioxidant, coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀), is an electron transporter residing in mitochondria. Past research has used oil-soluble formations of this compound, unfortunately the dosage required to induce neuroprotection was too high for practical use. However, water-soluble formation of CoQ₁₀ (Ubisol-Q₁₀) has been determined to protect the dopaminergic neurons from degeneration, while maintaining a practical dosage. The behavioural aspect is targeted since this disease shows many onset-symptoms. Semi-naturalistic novel tests performed on a running wheel will help determine whether the symptoms, such as balance, coordination and loss of motor control, can be improved. The main goal of this experiment is to determine whether there is a decrease in turning-around behaviours and a decrease in leg slips in rats with paraquat injections and Ubisol-Q₁₀ solution compared to the paraquat and water group.

Research Question

Does the Ubisol-Q₁₀ formulation improve the physical symptoms of PD looking at number of leg slips though a running wheel and the number of times the rat turns around in the wheel?

Methodology

Rats (N=24) were the subjects in this study. Four groups of six rats were established; paraquat-Ubisol-Q₁₀, paraquat-water, saline-Ubisol-Q₁₀ and saline-water. Injections of paraquat and saline-10mg/kg/injection-were given to the rats every 5 days. A total of 5 injections were administered. The Ubisol-Q₁₀ solution was given to the rats after the 5 injections were completed. The rats completed 5 phases: training, baseline (pre-injection), baseline (during-injection), baseline (post-injection), and testing. The rats are placed into the wheel apparatus and given an apple slice. The wheel rotates at 5RPM for 3 minutes, and after another apple slice is given. All of the rungs of the wheel are intact until the testing phase, where 2 adjacent rungs are removed. Throughout the experiment the number of times the rat turns around is recorded as well as the number of times their front or hind paws fall though the removed rung hole (seen only in the testing phase).