Title:The Immune System as a Therapeutic Target for Old and New Drugs in
Parkinson’s Disease
Volume: 22
Issue: 1
Author(s): Luca Magistrelli, Elena Contaldi and Cristoforo Comi*
Affiliation:
- Department of Translational Medicine, Movement Disorders Centre, Neurology Unit, University of Piemonte
Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
- Interdisciplinary Research Center of Autoimmune Diseases (IRCAD), University of Piemonte
Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
Keywords:
Disease modifying drugs, immunity, neurodegeneration, disease progression, neuroprotection, regeneration.
Abstract: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of
dopaminergic neurons and intraneuronal accumulation of protein aggregates. The exact mechanisms
leading to neuronal death in PD are not fully understood, but several different molecular pathways are
involved, leading to the concept that molecular subtypes may coexist in the nosological spectrum of
PD. To this respect, immune system activation, both in the periphery and inside the central nervous
system, was detected as a common trait of several pathogenic pathways of PD. The current working
hypothesis implies that immune cells shift towards a proinflammatory phenotype and trigger the production
of neurotoxic cytokines, ultimately contributing to neurodegeneration. While it is very important
to understand how commonly used antiparkinson drugs interact with such changes, the search
for treatments that may directly or indirectly modulate immune function is a great opportunity for disease
modification.
