Effect of Shouwu Prescription on Amino Acid Neurotransmitter Levels in the Brain of Rats with Levodopa-induced Dyskinesia

  OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Shou wu fang (SWF), a traditional Chinese medicine, on the behavioral indicators of levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID) rats and the amino acid neurotransmitters in the brain, and to explore the effects of Shou Wu Fang (SWF) The mechanism of the prescription to interfere with dyskinesia. Methods: The stereotactic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in the brain was used to create a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD), and the adult animals were intragastrically administered levodopa (levodopa, L-DOPA) or L-DOPA+SWF with different doses are divided into L-DOPA group, L-DOPA+SWF low-dose group, LID+SWF high-dose group, and a sham operation group. All animals were given continuous administration for 22 days. During the administration, the rats were scored for abnormal involuntary movement (AIM). On the 22nd day, microdialysis was used to sample the extracellular fluid of the striatum of awake rats, and the dynamic changes of glutamate (Glu) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the samples were detected by HPLC-fluorescence method . Results: After the rats were administered L-DOPA, AIM gradually appeared. To the end of the administration, the AIM score of the L-DOPA group was significantly increased compared with the sham operation group (P<0.01); compared with the L-DOPA group, The AIM score of the L-DOPA+SWF high-dose group was significantly reduced (P <0.05). On the 22nd day, compared with the sham operation group, the levels of Glu and GABA in the extracellular fluid of the rat striatum in each administration group increased, and the levels of Glu and GABA in the L-DOPA group showed statistical differences (P <0.05); Compared with the L-DOPA group, the Glu level of the L-DOPA+SWF high-dose group was significantly lower (P <0.05). 60 min after administration, the levels of Glu and GABA in each dose group of L-DOPA+Shouwu prescription were significantly lower than those of L-DOPA group (P <0.05, P <0.01).

   Conclusion: SWF can alleviate the side effects caused by L-DOPA and improve the behavioral symptoms of LID rats. Its mechanism of action may be related to the improvement of abnormal amino acid neurotransmitters in the brain of LID rats.