BACKGROUND Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proven to be able to modulate motor cortical plasticity might have potential as an alternative, adjunctive therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the efficacy of tDCS in PD is still uncertain. A disease animal model may be useful to clarify the existence of a treatment effect and to explore an effective therapeutic strategy using tDCS protocols. OBJECTIVE The current study was designed to identify the comprehensive therapeutic effects of tDCS in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned PD rats. METHODS Following early and long-term tDCS application (starting 24 h after PD lesion, 300 μA anodal tDCS, 20 min/day, 5 days/week) in awake PD animals for a total of 4 weeks, the effects of tDCS on motor and non-motor behaviors as well as dopaminergic neuron degeneration levels, were identified. RESULTS We found that the 4-week tDCS intervention significantly alleviated 6-OHDA-induced motor deficits in locomotor activity, akinesia, gait pattern and anxiety-like behavior, but not in apomorphine-induced rotations, recognition memory and depression-like behavior. Immunohistochemically, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in the substantia nigra were significantly preserved in the tDCS intervention group. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that early and long-term tDCS could exert neuroprotective effects and reduce the aggravation of motor dysfunctions in a 6-OHDA-induced PD rat model. Furthermore, this preclinical model may enhance the promising possibility of the potential use of tDCS and serve as a translational platform to further identify the therapeutic mechanism of tDCS for PD or other neurological disorders.

中文翻译：

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早期经颅直流电刺激治疗对 6-OHDA 诱导的大鼠帕金森病发挥神经保护作用

背景经颅直流电刺激 (tDCS) 已被证明能够调节运动皮质可塑性，可能具有作为帕金森病 (PD) 替代辅助疗法的潜力。然而，tDCS 在 PD 中的疗效仍不确定。疾病动物模型可能有助于阐明治疗效果的存在并探索使用 tDCS 协议的有效治疗策略。目的 本研究旨在确定 tDCS 对 6-羟基多巴胺 (6-OHDA) 损伤的 PD 大鼠的综合治疗效果。方法 在清醒的 PD 动物中早期和长期应用 tD​​CS（在 PD 损伤后 24 小时开始，300 μA 阳极 tDCS，20 分钟/天，5 天/周）总共 4 周后，tDCS 对运动和运动的影响非运动行为以及多巴胺能神经元变性水平，被识别。结果 我们发现 4 周 tDCS 干预显着减轻了 6-OHDA 诱导的运动活动、运动不能、步态模式和焦虑样行为的运动缺陷，但在阿扑吗啡诱导的旋转、识别记忆和抑郁样行为方面没有显着缓解。免疫组织化学上，tDCS 干预组黑质中的酪氨酸羟化酶 (TH) 阳性神经元显着保留。结论 这些结果表明，早期和长期 tDCS 可以在 6-OHDA 诱导的 PD 大鼠模型中发挥神经保护作用并减少运动功能障碍的加重。此外，这种临床前模型可能会增强 tDCS 潜在用途的有希望的可能性，并作为一个转化平台，以进一步确定 tDCS 对 PD 或其他神经系统疾病的治疗机制。