Introduction. Parkinson's disease (PD) associates with change in sex hormones, but it is not known whether this is either a cause for or a result of the disease. To evaluate more, we investigate if development of 6-hydroxydopamine (6- OHDA) - induced Parkinsonism changes the serum levels of testosterone and prolactin? Methods. 6-OHDA was injected into medial forebrain bundle using stereotaxic surgery. Development of Parkinsonism was evaluated by apomorphine-induced rotational test and immunofluorescence labeling of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in substantia nigra. Blood samples were collected before the toxin and in the third and sixth weeks after that. The hormones levels were determined using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Findings. The severity of rotations was different among 6-OHDA- treated rats and accordingly they were divided into two subgroups of severe and mild parkinsonian rats. Degeneration of DA neurons was observed in both subgroups but it was significantly less in mild one. In sixth week after the toxin, testosterone level increased but only in severe subgroup. Prolactin increased in both subgroups in third week after the toxin but returned to normal in sixth week. There was no association between the pre-toxin levels of these hormones with the intensity of Parkinsonism. Conclusion. Our findings indicate that the development of 6-OHDA-induced Parkinsonism increases the serum levels of testosterone and prolactin. Increase in prolactin occurred earlier and was observed in rats with less DA neuronal loss. Therefore, prolactin level can predict death of DA neurons before the clinical signs of PD were revealed.
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