Helene Coulom and Serge Birman
In this week's Journal, Coulom and Birman report on a fly model of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). Flies subjected to chronic sublethal exposure to the pesticide rotenone (a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor) resembled the behavioral and neurological dysfunction associated with PD. A few days after rotenone was added to the fly chow, dose-dependent locomotor defects were apparent, as measured by their ability to ascend a 25 cm vertical plastic column (rock-climbing fly-style).
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