title: Dopamine receptor agonists for protection and repair in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Dopamine agonists have been usually used as adjunctive therapy for the cure of Parkinson's disease. It is generally believed that treatment with these drugs is symptomatic rather than curative and it does not stop or delay the progression of neuronal degeneration. However, several dopamine agonists of the D2-receptor family have recently been shown to possess neuroprotective properties in different in vitro and in vivo experimental Parkinson's disease models. Here we summarize some recent molecular evidences underlining the wide pharmacological spectrum of dopamine agonists currently used for treating Parkinson's disease patients. In particular, the mechanism of action of different dopamine agonists does not always appear to be restricted to the stimulation of selective dopamine receptor subtypes since at least some of these drugs are endowed with antioxidant, antiapoptotic or neurotrophic properties. These neuroprotective activities are molecule-specific and may contribute to the clinical efficacy of these drugs for the treatment of chronic and progressive neurodegenerative diseases in which oxidative injury and/or protein misfolding and aggregation exert a primary role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrari-Toninelli
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bonini
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cenini
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maccarinelli
authors.forename: Mariagrazia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grilli
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uberti
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Memo
mesh_terms: D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents