title: Shedding light into the role of BDNF in the pharmacotherapy of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease with a 1% incidence in the population over 55 years of age. Movement impairments represent undoubtedly the hallmark of the disorder; however, extensive evidence implicates cognitive deficits as concomitant peculiar features. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) colocalizes with dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, where dopaminergic cell bodies are located, and it has recently garnered attention as a molecule crucial for cognition, a function that is also compromised in PD patients. Thus, due to its colocalization with dopaminergic neurons and its role in cognition, BDNF might possess a dual role in PD, both as a neuroprotective molecule, since its inhibition leads to loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, and as a neuromodulator, as its enhanced expression ameliorates cognitive processes. In this review, we discuss the mechanism of action of established as well as novel drugs for PD with a particular emphasis to those interfering with BDNF biosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Center of Neuropharmacology, Milan, Italy. fabio.fumagalli@unimi.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fumagalli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Racagni
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Riva
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor