An update on potential therapeutic strategies for Parkinson’s disease based on pathogenic mechanisms

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder mainly caused by the loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, of which the pathogenesis remains essentially unknown. Current therapeutic strategies help manage signs and symptoms but have no effect in disease modification. Over the past several decades, scientists have devoted a lot of effort to clarifying the pathological mechanism and searching for new targets for Parkinson’s disease treatment.Areas covered: Treatment of Parkinson’s disease.Expert Commentary: Illustrated in this review are newly found discoveries and evidence that contribute to the understanding of Parkinson’s disease pathogenic mechanism. Also discussed are potential therapeutic strategies that are being studied, including disease-modifying and genetically mediated small molecule compounds, cell- and gene-based therapeutic strategies, immunization strategies and anti-diabetic therapy, which may be very promising therapeutic methods in the future.