Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is underlined by insufficient neuronal dopamine (DA) content. DA is influential for breathing, particularly for hypoxic ventilatory responses, at both central and peripheral carotid body level. There are reasons to believe that breathing might be impaired in PD. We tested this hypothesis in the rat reserpine model of parkinsonism. Ventilation and its responses were recorded in a plethysmograph in conscious rats before and after the induction of parkinsonic symptoms. The findings are that the ventilatory hypoxic responses were substantially reduced in parkinsonism. The likely mechanism of reduced ventilation seems the missing stimulatory element of central DA. The study suggests that breathing rehabilitative exercise, possibly combined with home oxygen therapy, might be a potential countermeasure for deteriorating bodily and cognitive symptoms in parkinsonism.
