Natural Products and Nature-Inspirated Synthetic Derivatives in Parkinson's Disease Drug Discovery
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 7041
Special Issue Editor
Interests: neurodegenerative diseases; endothelial dysfunction; inflammation; oxidative stress; drug development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. It is known to start with the loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substance nigra pars compacta (SNc). Although PD pathogenesis is not fully known, there is evidence that several genetic and environmental factors may be involved. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial injury, inflammatory processes, abnormal α-synuclein deposition, and cell apoptosis have been reported as possible triggers of the disease.
In 2016, there were approximately 6.1 million patients worldwide affected by this disease. The prevalence of the disease reaches 41 people per 100,000 among those under 50, and this rises to 1900 people per 100,000 among those over 85 years of age. If this trend does not change, as a result of the aging of the global population, the number of people living with PD will double by 2050.
Currently, the treatment of this disease is only symptomatic. The combination of levodopa–carbidopa is the most successful treatment. However, its effectiveness in controlling symptoms is reduced with the progression of the disease. Other options are dopamine agonists, MAO inhibitors, COMT inhibitors, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or amantadine, which is used in early stages or to relieve dyskinesias caused by levodopa–carbidopa.
To date, a disease-modifying therapy has not been developed. Different herbal extracts and isolated natural products have been described due to their anti-PD properties. Their interest is based on their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, their inhibitory role in iron accumulation, protein misfolding and the maintenance of proteasomal degradation, as well as mitochondrial homeostasis. However, their precise neuroprotective mechanisms remain unclear.
The cell lines and animal models used in preclinical studies of PD have shown many limitations. The clinical trials performed with extracts are also inconclusive. Standardization of the chemical composition of the extracts, and improvement of the clinical studies in terms of design and outcome measures are necessary.
Therefore, this Special Issue aims to include original or review articles on herbal extracts, natural products or nature-inspired synthetic derivatives with an interest in PD. Detailed studies of their mechanisms of action, the in vitro and in vivo models used, and new therapeutic approaches are also welcome.
Dr. Dolores Viña
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Parkinson’s disease (PD)
- Natural products
- Nature-inspirated synthetic derivatives
- Herbal extracts
- Target in PD
- Mechanism of action
- Experimental models of PD
- Clinical trials
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