Parkinson's Disease model

Newsletter # 16



Animal models

Welcome to our Newsletter which presents the Haloperidol-induced catalepsy as a test for screening compounds with a symptomatic effect on Parkinson’s Disease.
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder featured by the loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. The primary motor symptoms of patients with PD are muscular rigidity, akinesia-bradykinesia and resting tremor. In rodents, neuroleptic drugs such as haloperidol induce catalepsy characterized by muscular rigidity and behavioral immobility. Haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rodents has long been used as an experimental model of PD.

NEUROFIT is a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) specialising in the evaluation of treatments for peripheral and central nervous system disorders. NEUROFIT offers a long list of in vivo and in vitro validated methods and disease models for drug screening.

  • The degree of inhibition / reversion of haloperidol-induced catalepsy is used to measure the potential effect of new drugs on akinesic symptoms of PD.

  • Graph A :

    Time course of Haloperidol-induced catalepsy in the mouse.
    Treatment with CSC markedly reduces haloperidol-induced catalepsy.

  • Graph B :

    Reduction of haloperidol-induced catalepsy by CSC during the stable phase (180-270 min.).


NEUROFIT offers a range of validated in vitro and in vivo screening tests for psychiatry and neurology.

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