Abstrait

Dopamine (DA) toxicity in pathogenesis and therapy of Parkinson's disease (PD).

Zhi Dong Zhou and Eng King Tan

Parkinson?s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1% of the general population over the age of 60 [1]. PD is characterized by progressive dopamine (DA) neuron degeneration in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SN) plus Lewy body formation in affected brain areas [2]. The progressive DA neuron degeneration leads to decreased DA content in SN, contributing to onset of PD symptoms. So far PD is still an incurable human disorder and L-DOPA replenishing therapy is the only treatment, which can transiently alleviate PD symptoms, with no therapeutic effects against DA neurons demise in PD patient brains