Novel pharmacological targets for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Abstract

Dopamine deficiency, caused by the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, is the cause of the major clinical motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. These symptoms can be treated successfully with a range of drugs that include levodopa, inhibitors of the enzymatic breakdown of levodopa and dopamine agonists delivered by oral, subcutaneous, transcutaneous, intravenous or intra-duodenal routes. However, Parkinson's disease involves degeneration of non-dopaminergic neurons and the treatment of the resulting predominantly non-motor features remains a challenge. This review describes the important recent advances that underlie the development of novel dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic drugs for Parkinson's disease, and also for the motor complications that arise from the use of existing therapies.

• Authors: Anthony H V Schapira, Erwan Bezard, Jonathan Brotchie, Frédéric Calon, Graham L Collingridge, Borris Ferger, Bastian Hengerer, Etienne Hirsch, Peter Jenner, Nicolas Le Novère, José A Obeso, Michael A Schwarzschild, Umberto Spampinato, Giora Davidai
• Journal: Nature reviews. Drug discovery (Nat Rev Drug Discov) Vol. 5 Issue 10 Pg. 845-54 (Oct 2006) ISSN: 1474-1776 [Print] England
• PMID: 17016425 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Adenosine A2 Receptor Antagonists
• Antiparkinson Agents
• Cholinergic Agents
• Dopamine Agonists
• Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
• Narcotic Antagonists
• Serotonin Antagonists
• Serotonin Receptor Agonists

Topics

• Adenosine A2 Receptor Antagonists
• Antiparkinson Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Cholinergic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Dopamine Agonists (therapeutic use)
• Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (therapeutic use)
• Narcotic Antagonists (therapeutic use)
• Parkinson Disease (drug therapy)
• Serotonin Antagonists (therapeutic use)
• Serotonin Receptor Agonists (therapeutic use)