Generic placeholder image

Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

Connecting Parkinsons Disease and Drug Addiction: Common Players Reveal Unexpected Disease Connections and Novel Therapeutic Approaches

Author(s): Esther Gramage and Gonzalo Herradon

Volume 17, Issue 5, 2011

Page: [449 - 461] Pages: 13

DOI: 10.2174/138161211795164103

Price: $65

Abstract

Parkinsons disease (PD) is generally a sporadic disease, and only a small proportion of cases have a clear genetic component. During the last few years, a possible specific cause triggering death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, drug of abuseinduced neurotoxicity, is being considered as a potential mechanism to develop PD, especially in the case of abuse of amphetamine and its derivatives. Recent evidences have shown pleiotrophin, a growth factor with important functions in remodeling and repair of injured neural tissue, as an important factor involved in the pathogenesis of both diseases by preventing neurodegeneration in Parkinsons disease, neurotoxicity induced by drug abuse and by its ability to modulate drugs addictive effects. This review discusses targeting growth factors such as glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to treat Parkinson ’ s disease and/or drug addiction and compiles recent evidences to propose the pleiotrophin/receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase β/ζ signaling pathway as a new therapeutic target to treat Parkinsons disease and to prevent drug of abuse-induced neurotoxicity and addictive effects.

Keywords: Pleiotrophin, midkine, drug abuse, neurodegeneration, GDNF, beta-catenin


Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy