Dopamine (DA) toxicity in pathogenesis and therapy of Parkinson’s disease (PD)

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1% of the general population over the age of 60 [1]. PD is characterized by progressive dopamine (DA) neuron degeneration in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SN) plus Lewy body formation in affected brain areas [2]. The progressive DA neuron degeneration leads to decreased DA content in SN, contributing to onset of PD symptoms. So far PD is still an incurable human disorder and L-DOPA replenishing therapy is the only treatment, which can transiently alleviate PD symptoms, with no therapeutic effects against DA neurons demise in PD patient brains