Mechanisms of Graft-Induced Dyskinesias in an Animal Model of Parkinson's Disease (Supplemental Funding)

Our ongoing project has four aims:

1. To develop a model of graft-induced dyskinesia (GID) in the rat, which will provide a cost-effective tool for studying the mechanisms of this complication;
2. To test the hypothesis that the development of GID is conditioned by such factors as graft size and graft location within the striatum;
3. To examine whether GID are dependent on graft-derived dopamine and whether preoperative L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias predispose to GID;
4. To test the hypothesis that an inflammatory reaction in the striatum, as occurs in chronic immune rejection, can evoke GID.

This supplemental grant will allow us to expand our characterization of the rodent model by examining additional timepoints.