Title:Current Drugs and Potential Future Neuroprotective Compounds for Parkinson’s Disease
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Author(s): Iván Carrera*Ramón Cacabelos
Affiliation:
- Department of Health Biotechnology, EuroEspes Biotechnology, Corunna 15165,Spain
Keywords:
Parkinson's disease, nutraceuticals, neuroprotection, phytobioactivity, degeneration, neuroscience.
Abstract: The research progress of understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's
disease (PD) has yet lead to the development of some clinical approaches intended to treat cognitive
and behavioral symptoms, such as memory and perception disorders. Despite the major advances in
different genetic causes and risk factors for PD, which share common pathways to cell dysfunction
and death, there is not yet a complete model of PD that can be used to accurately predict the effect
of drugs on disease progression. Clinical trials are also important to test any novel neuro-protective
agent, and recently there have been great advances in the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and plant
flavonoid antioxidants to protect against specific neuronal degeneration and its interference with
lipid and cholesterol metabolism. The increasing knowledge of the molecular events underlying the
degenerative process of PD has stimulated research to identify natural compounds capable of halting
or slowing the progress of neural deterioration. Polyphenols and flavonoids, which play a neuroprotective
role in a wide array of in vitro and in vivo models of neurological disorders, emerged
from among the multi-target bio-agents found mainly in plants and microorganisms. This review
presents a detailed overview of the multimodal activities of neuroprotective bio-agents tested so far,
emphasizing their neurorescue/neuroregenerative activity. The brain-penetrating property of bioagents
may make these compounds an important class of natural drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative
diseases. Although there are numerous studies demonstrating beneficial effects in
the laboratory by identifying critical molecular targets, the clinical efficacy of these neuroprotective
treatments remains to be proven accurately.
