Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:840247. doi: 10.1155/2012/840247. Epub 2012 Sep 10.
Chronic treatment with levodopa (LD) in Parkinson's disease (PD) can cause drug induced dyskinesias. Mucuna pruriens endocarp powder (MPEP) contains several compounds including natural LD and has been reported to not cause drug-induced dyskinesias. We evaluated the effects of Mucuna pruriens to determine if its underlying mechanistic actions are exclusively due to LD. We first compared MPEP with and without carbidopa (CD), and LD+CD in hemiparkinsonian (HP) monkeys. Each treatment ameliorated parkinsonism. We then compared the neuronal firing properties of the substantia nigra reticulata (SNR) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) in HP monkeys with MPEP+CD and LD+CD to evaluate basal ganglia circuitry alterations. Both treatments decreased SNR firing rate compared to HP state. However, LD+CD treatments significantly increased SNR bursting firing patterns that were not seen with MPEP+CD treatments. No significant changes were seen in STN firing properties. We then evaluated the effects of a water extract of MPEP. Oral MPWE ameliorated parkinsonism without causing drug-induced dyskinesias. The distinctive neurophysiological findings in the basal ganglia and the ability to ameliorate parkinsonism without causing dyskinesias strongly suggest that Mucuna pruriens acts through a novel mechanism that is different from that of LD.
左旋多巴（LD）在帕金森病（PD）中的慢性治疗会导致药物诱导的运动障碍。Mucuna pruriens 内果皮粉（MPEP）含有多种化合物，包括天然 LD，据报道不会引起药物诱导的运动障碍。我们评估了 Mucuna pruriens 的作用，以确定其潜在的机械作用是否完全归因于 LD。我们首先比较了 MPEP 与不含卡比多巴（CD）的 MPEP 以及 LD+CD 在偏侧帕金森病猴中的作用。每种治疗都改善了帕金森病。然后，我们比较了 MPEP+CD 和 LD+CD 治疗的偏侧帕金森病猴的黑质网状部（SNR）和丘脑底核（STN）的神经元放电特性，以评估基底节回路的改变。与 HP 状态相比，两种治疗均降低了 SNR 的放电率。然而，LD+CD 治疗显著增加了 SNR 爆发式放电模式，而 MPEP+CD 治疗则没有这种模式。STN 放电特性没有明显变化。然后我们评估了 MPEP 水提取物的作用。口服 MPWE 改善了帕金森病，而没有引起药物诱导的运动障碍。基底节的独特神经生理学发现以及在不引起运动障碍的情况下改善帕金森病的能力强烈表明，Mucuna pruriens 通过一种不同于 LD 的新机制发挥作用。
