Objective: This study presents a novel method of predicting the behavioral pattern in male Sprague-Dawley rats with motor deficits impairment, based on the measurement of the dielectric properties (dielectric constant and conductivity) of blood plasma at microwave frequencies at different time points.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure and no single reliable diagnostic test.

Method: Thirty (30) rats received an intracerebral injection of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (5 µg/4 µl) unilaterally injected directly into the medial forebrain bundle to mimic lesions similar to those observed in patients with PD. Ten (10) control rats received 10µl of saline. The forelimb akinesia test was used to evaluate motor impairment. Blood plasma was collected for determination of protein activity using a microwave technique. The microwave measurements were performed by the rectangular cavity perturbation method in the S-band of microwave frequency with the blood plasma collected from all rats.

Results: A 6-OHDA lesion effect was evidenced by impairment in the forelimb akinesia test showing greater motor deficits when compared to saline-injected rats. We also found a change in the dielectric properties of the 6-OHDA samples but not the controls at the extended time point.

Conclusion: This study provides a new method of detecting motor impairment associated with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/dielectric-properties-of-a-blood-plasma-predict-motor-deficits-in-a-6-hydroxydopamine-induced-rat-model-of-parkinsons-disease/