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Rationale: Treatment of Parkinson's disease has been by now symptomatic. The literature on the efficacy and side effects of levodopa has been contradictory. Some authors mention an anti-depressant effect of the agent, while others believe that it is exactly levodopa that eventually induces the occurrence of depressive symptoms.Aim: To reproduce the OHDA-hemiparkinsonism rat model with subsequent assessment of both external and structural manifestations of the disorder, as well as to study the efficacy of levodopa for motor and non-motor symptoms of parkinsonism.Materials and methods: The study was performed in 52 male Wistar rats. The disease model included stereotaxic administration of neurotoxic 6-OHDA into the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. At 2 months after the administration, the animals underwent test for motor (Rotarod, cylinder, ketamine-induced rotation in the rotometer) and non-motor abnormalities (open field, social interest, conditioned escape response).Results: In 18% of the animals no hemiparkinsonism symptoms were found. 32% of rats had only motor symptoms, whereas in 50% of the animals both motor and non-motor symptoms were noted. Levodopa could partially correct the motor abnormalities, with augmentation of depressive-like behavior.Conclusion: Levodopa has shown its partial efficacy in correction of the motor symptoms caused by administration of 6-OHDA neurotoxin; however, it caused such side effects as augmentation of depressive-like behavior and anxiety.

Aim. Neural progenitor cells (NPC) are used for the development of cell therapies of neurological diseases. Their stereotaxic transplantation in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model imitating ischemic stroke results in symptom aleviation. However, exploration of less invasive transplantation options is essential, because stereotaxic transplantation is a complex procedure and can be applied to humans only by vital indications in a specialized neurological ward. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of cell therapy of the experimental ischemic stroke by the intra-arterial transplantation of NPC.Materials and methods. NPC for transplantation (IPSC-NPC) were derived by two-stage differentiation of cells of a stable line of human induced pluripotent stem cells. Stroke modeling in rats was carried out by transitory 90 min endovascular MCAO by a silicon-tipped filament. NPC were transplanted 24 hours after MCAO. Repetitive magnetic resonance tomography of experimental animals was made with the Bruker BioSpin ClinScan tomograph with 7 Tl magnetic field induction. Animal survival rate and neurological deficit (using mNSS standard stroke severity scale) were evaluated at the 1st (before IPSC-NPC transplantation), 7th and 14th day after transplantation. Histological studies were carried out following standard protocols.Results. Intra-arterial transplantation of 7 × 105 IPSC-NPC in 1 ml at a constant 100 l/min rate in case of secured blood flow through the internal carotid artery did not cause brain capillary embolism, additional cytotoxic brain tissue edemas or other complications, while inducing increase of animal survival rate and enhanced revert of the neurological deficit. IPSC-NPC accumulation in brain after intra-arterial infusion was demonstrated. Some cells interacted with the capillary endothelium and probably penetrated through the blood-brain barrier.Conclusion. Therapeutic efficacy of the systemic, intra-arterial administration of NPC in ischemic stroke has been experimentally proven. A method of secure intra-arterial infusion of cell material into the internal carotid artery middle in rats has been developed and tested.