Effects of dexamethasone and betamethasone as COX-2 gene expression inhibitors on rigidity in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson′s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease in the nigrostriatal pathway of animals and humans and is responsible for most of the movement disorders, including the rigidity. Increasing evidence suggests that an inflammatory reaction accompanies the pathological processes caused by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) seen in many neurodegenerative disorders, including PD. In this study oral betamethasone and dexamethasone were administrated to parkinsonian rats chronically and their effect on rigidity was evaluated. As the results of this study show, both the molecules were able to decrease rigidity.