title: Novel anti-inflammatory therapy for Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder that is characterized by progressive degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Although dopamine replacement can alleviate symptoms of the disorder, there is no proven therapy to halt the underlying progressive degeneration of dopamine-containing neurons. Recently, increasing evidence from human and animal studies has suggested that neuroinflammation is an important contributor to the neuronal loss in PD. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory agent lipopolysaccharide itself can directly initiate degeneration of dopamine-containing neurons or combine with other environmental factor(s), such as the pesticide rotenone, to exacerbate such neurodegeneration. These effects provide strong support for the involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of PD. Furthermore, growing experimental evidence demonstrates that inhibition of the inflammatory response can, in part, prevent degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine-containing neurons in several animal models of PD, suggesting that inhibition of inflammation might become a promising therapeutic intervention for PD.
authors.affiliation: Neuropharmacology Section, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. Gao@niehs.nih.gov
authors.forename: Hui Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wangqin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jau Shyong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents