title: Pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease is a common adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder whose pathogenesis remains essentially unknown. Currently, it is believed that the neurodegenerative process in Parkinson's disease is a combination of both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms. Proposed cell-autonomous mechanisms include alterations in mitochondrial bioenergetics, dysregulation of calcium homeostasis, and impaired turnover of mitochondria. As for the proposed non-cell-autonomous mechanisms, they involve prion-like behavior of misfolded proteins and neuroinflammation. This suggests that cell death in Parkinson's disease is caused by a multifactorial cascade of pathogenic events and argues that effective neuroprotective therapy for Parkinson's disease may have to rely on multiple drug interventions.
authors.affiliation: Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 06, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moëlle Épinière, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Etienne C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jenner
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Przedborski
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D028361:Mitochondrial Diseases / Q000150:complications; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium