Street drugs yield primate Parkinson's model

The tragic mistake of several young drug abusers has led scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to develop a unique animal model of Parkinson's disease. The animals are rhesus monkeys, and their parkinsonism is produced with 1-methyl4-phenyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a byproduct of the synthesis of a meperidine (Demerol) analogue, MPPP. The story began in November 1976, when a 23-year-old chemistry graduate student became severely rigid, mute, weak, and tremorous. He had injected himself during the course of several days with doses of a sloppy homemade batch of MPPP. He was admitted to the psychiatric ward of a general hospital with an initial diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia but later was successfully treated with anti-parkinson medications and referred to NIMH for further evaluation. While receiving treatment for his parkinsonian symptoms, the student persisted in abusing drugs and finally died of an overdose in September 1978. Autopsy revealed severe loss of