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Evidence supports the role of inflammation in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we are interested in inflammation as a risk factor by itself and not only as a factor contributing to neurodegeneration. We tested the influence of a mild to moderate peripheral inflammation (injection of carrageenan into the paws of rats) on the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in an animal model based on the intranigral injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent inflammatory agent. Overall, the treatment with carrageenan increased the effect of the intranigral injection of LPS on the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN along with all the other parameters studied, including: serum levels of the inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and C-reactive protein; activation of microglia, expression of proinflammatory cytokines, the adhesion molecule ICAM and the enzyme iNOS, loss of astrocytes and …