Drug therapy for Parkinson’s disease: An update

Core Tip

Core tip: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which currently there is no cure. The advent of many therapies such as levodopa (L-dopa), dopamine-receptor-agonists, monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors, and catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors helped much to ease the life and to improve health-related quality of life of PD patients. Among these drugs, L-dopa remains the most effective agent for treatment of motor symptoms in PD. These agents provide symptomatic relief for motor symptoms but there is no evidence that these could alter the natural course of the disease and prevent the progressive dopaminergic neuronal loss. There is, however, encouraging data that suggest a benefit from iron chelation therapy with deferiprone and from the use of antioxidants or mitochondrial function enhancers in preventing or delaying the progression of PD.