title: Parkinson's disease as a result of aging.
abstract: It is generally considered that Parkinson's disease is induced by specific agents that degenerate a clearly defined population of dopaminergic neurons. Data commented in this review suggest that this assumption is not as clear as is often thought and that aging may be critical for Parkinson's disease. Neurons degenerating in Parkinson's disease also degenerate in normal aging, and the different agents involved in the etiology of this illness are also involved in aging. Senescence is a wider phenomenon affecting cells all over the body, whereas Parkinson's disease seems to be restricted to certain brain centers and cell populations. However, reviewed data suggest that Parkinson's disease may be a local expression of aging on cell populations which, by their characteristics (high number of synaptic terminals and mitochondria, unmyelinated axons, etc.), are highly vulnerable to the agents promoting aging. The development of new knowledge about Parkinson's disease could be accelerated if the research on aging and Parkinson's disease were planned together, and the perspective provided by gerontology gains relevance in this field.
authors: Laboratory of Neurobiology and Experimental Neurology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain; Center for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), La Laguna, Spain.
authors: Manuel
authors: M
authors: Rodriguez
authors: Clara
authors: C
authors: Rodriguez-Sabate
authors: Ingrid
authors: I
authors: Morales
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Sanchez
authors: Magdalena
authors: M
authors: Sabate
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Parkinson's disease; aging; dopamine; neurodegeneration; nigrostriatal neurons