title: Neuroprotective strategies for Parkinson's disease: conceptual limits of animal models and clinical trials.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Although therapies that treat the symptoms of the disease have proven efficacy, strategies that slow or stop the neurodegenerative process are currently not available. Recently, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducted a systematic assessment of candidate pharmacological agents with putative neuroprotective properties. Twelve agents have been selected as potential candidates for upcoming clinical trials. However, the data resulting from the use of these agents in animal models of PD using a clinically driven design have not been published. Furthermore, the selection of interesting candidates should be based on the soundest clinically driven preclinical validation. This lack of published data, associated with the conceptual limits of the current way of testing drugs in clinical trials, prompts us to argue for further preclinical validation of the 12 candidates.
authors.affiliation: Basal Gang in Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie, CNRS UMR 5543, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Wassilios
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meissner
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tison
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Erwan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bezard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents