Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease caused by degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. The origin and causes of dopamine neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease are not well understood but oxidative stress may play an important role in its onset. Much effort has been dedicated to find biomarkers indicative of oxidative stress and neurodegenerative processes in parkinsonian brains. By using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) to identify and quantify key metabolites, it is now possible to elucidate the metabolic pathways affected by pathological conditions like neurodegeneration. The metabolic disturbances in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) hemiparkinsonian rat model were monitored and the nature and size of these metabolic alterations were analyzed. The results indicate that a unilateral injection of 6-OHDA into the striatum causes metabolic changes that not only affect the injected hemisphere but also the contralateral, non-lesioned side. We could clearly identify specific metabolic pathways that were affected, which were mostly related with oxidative stress and neurotransmission. In addition, a partial metabolic recovery by carrying out an antioxidant treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was observable.

中文翻译：

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6-OHDA帕金森氏病大鼠大脑的1 H NMR分析显示N-乙酰半胱氨酸治疗后代谢改变和恢复迹象。

帕金森氏病是由黑质中多巴胺神经元变性引起的第二大最常见的神经退行性疾病。帕金森氏病中多巴胺神经变性的起源和原因尚不清楚，但氧化应激可能在其发作中起重要作用。已经付出了很多努力来寻找指示帕金森氏脑中氧化应激和神经退行性过程的生物标志物。通过使用质子核磁共振（1H NMR）识别和量化关键代谢物，现在有可能阐明受神经变性等病理状况影响的代谢途径。监测6-羟基多巴胺（6-OHDA）偏帕金森病大鼠模型中的代谢紊乱，并分析这些代谢改变的性质和大小。结果表明，单侧向纹状体注射6-OHDA会引起代谢变化，不仅影响注射的半球，而且影响对侧的非病变侧。我们可以清楚地确定受影响的特定代谢途径，这些途径主要与氧化应激和神经传递有关。另外，通过用N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）进行抗氧化剂处理，可以观察到部分代谢恢复。