Lesion of striatal neurons with kainic acid provides a model for Huntington's chorea

THE symptoms of Huntington's chorea, an hereditary movement disorder, result from degeneration of neurones primarily in the basal ganglia1. Several neurochemical abnormalities have been identified in the brains of patients dying with this disorder2–5, but no animal system with similar neuropathological changes has been described. We now report that the injection of kainic acid into the rat striatum causes neuronal degeneration, neurochemical alterations and behavioural responses resembling Huntington's chorea. This procedure could provide an animal model for the study of the disease.

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