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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

The 6-hydroxydopamine Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 27, 2021
6-Hydroxydopamine: a far from simple neurotoxin
Damir Varešlija1,2, Keith F Tipton3, Gavin P Davey1
1School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Abstract:
6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), which is a neurotoxin that selectively destroys catecholaminergic nerves in sympathetically innervated tissues, has been used to provide a model of Parkinson's disease in experimental animals. It is rapidly autoxidised to yield potentially toxic products and reactive oxygen species. Its ability to release Fe(II) from protein storage sites also results in the formation of hROS. This account will consider how this family of toxic products may contribute to the observed effects of 6-OHDA.
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