الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting 1% of individuals over the age of 60. PD is characterized clinically by motor symptoms of rest tremor, bradykinesia (or akinesia), and postural instability, and non-motor symptoms such as olfactory dysfunction, constipation, and cognitive impairment. The association of aging with PD is well detailed, and aging is documented to be the most important risk factor for the development of PD. The prevalence of PD and the burden of diseased peoples will increase in future years due to increase in old age populations. One of the main mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease pathophysiology is overexpression of
α synuclein (α-SYN) protein and subsequent formation of Lewy bodies which are small acidic protein enriched in the presynaptic terminals of neurons. The fact that α-SYN protein overexpression are implicated in cognitive and motor impairments in PD attracts many researchers to target it as a new potential therapy for PD. The miRNAs are capable of modulating several signaling pathways in several diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, making them potent modulators of gene expression. Thus, the normal level of miR-7 permits normal neurogenesis process in the central nervous system. Also, it keeps α-SYN protein expression at the physiological level. Furthermore, the effect of miR-7 on α-SYN protein down regulation, at both the transcript and protein level was documented in several studies in vitro. The potential roles of miR-7 for modulation of pathology in vivo need further investigations. Herein, we used miR-7 mimic in vivo to investigate its role as early and late intervention strategy for different aspects of PD. Chitosan nanoparticles were chosen as a delivery system for miR-7 in our study whereas many studies documented its unique ability for cell transfection in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, till now, no ideal delivery system for miR-7 transfer in vivo was settled. To date, the implication of miR-7 in vivo as early and late intervention treatment for Parkinsonism remains unclear.