Hepatic disposition of MPTP and pesticides associated with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurological diseases in older people. The pathogenesis is unknown, but epidemiological evidence implicates environmental neurotoxins such as pesticides. The liver is the major organ for detoxification of xenobiotics and, therefore, the hepatic disposition of neurotoxins may influence susceptibility to PD. In this thesis, the hepatic disposition of three representative pesticides: paraquat, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and malathion, and the PD-producing neurotoxin l-methy1—4-pheny1—1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) were examined in the perfused rat liver using the multiple indicator-dilution (MID) technique and isolated hepatocytes