Parkinsonism Treatment

Jana Hennemann

Jana Hennemann

Kirchberg, Germany

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Wolfgang Schatton

Wolfgang Schatton

KliniPharm, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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Ralf H. Lyssy

Ralf H. Lyssy

Institut für Pharmazeutische Chemie, J. W. Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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First published: 15 July 2008
Citations: 1

Abstract

The article contains sections titles:

1.

Introduction

2.

Therapy of Parkinson's Disease

2.1.

Centrally Acting Anticholinergic Drugs

2.1.1.

Tropane Alkaloids

2.1.2.

Piperidine Derivatives

2.1.3.

Phenothiazine Derivatives

2.1.4.

Antihistamines

2.2.

Drugs Affecting Brain Dopamine Levels

2.2.1.

Drugs That Increase Brain Dopamine Levels

2.2.1.1.

l-Dopa Monotherapy

2.2.1.2.

Peripheral Decarboxylase Inhibitors

2.2.1.3.

l-Dopa Derivatives

2.2.1.4.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

2.2.1.5.

Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase Inhibitors

2.2.1.6.

Monoamine Reuptake Inhibitors

2.2.2.

Dopamine-Releasing Drugs

2.2.2.1.

Direct Release

2.2.2.2.

Dopamine Release by Glutamate Antagonists

2.2.3.

Dopamine Receptor Agonists

3.

New Developments

Pharmacological treatment of Parkinson's Disease (PD) has made remarkable progress over the past 50 years and can lead to significant improvement in the quality of life of PD patients. However, for some patients pharmacological therapy can be ineffective at alleviating PD symptoms. Furthermore, long-term usage of drugs, especially the gold standard levodopa, can lead to complications. Alternative nondrug therapies have been developed to avoid these difficulties. Transplantation of embryonic tissue did not meet the high expectations resulting from the first open label trials. Different procedures such as implantation of retinal epithelial cells or gene therapy are currently still part of clinical testing. Overall, a balanced application of the available therapies can improve PD symptoms for 15–25 years and guarantee a good to satisfactory quality of life and significantly increase the life expectancy of PD patients.

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