Short review on dopamine agonists: insight into clinical and research studies relevant to Parkinson's disease.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2005, Vol 57, Issue 6
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurological disorder characterized by selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (DAergic) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and subsequent decrease in dopamine (DA) levels in the striatum. Although levodopa replacement therapy is initially effective in symptomatic treatment of parkinsonian patients, its effectiveness often declines and various levodopa-related side effects appear after long-term treatment. The disabling side effects of levodopa therapy include motor fluctuations such as the wearing-off or on-off phenomena, dyskinesias and psychiatric symptoms. Nowadays, DA receptor agonists are often regarded as first choice in de novo and young parkinsonian patients to delay the onset of levodopa therapy. In advanced stages of the disease, they are also used as adjunct therapy together with levodopa to retard the development of motor complications. DA receptor agonists mimick the endogenous neurotransmitter, dopamine, and act by direct stimulation of presynaptic (autoreceptors) and postsynaptic DA receptors. Next to their clinical role in treating parkinsonian patients, laboratory studies reported antioxidative and neuron-rescuing effects of DA receptor agonists either in vivo or in vitro. This may involve reduced DA turnover following autoreceptor stimulation and direct free radical scavenging activity. In this review, we focus on and summarize the recently reported effects of the most commonly used DA agonists either in clinical or in research studies relevant to PD treatment.
Authors and Affiliations
Khaled Radad, Gabriele Gille, Wolf-Dieter Rausch
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP83597
- DOI -
- Views 106
- Downloads 0
Ebselen attenuates oxidative stress in ischemic astrocytes depleted of glutathione. Comparison with glutathione precursors.
In this study, we investigated the protective effect of ebselen, a seleno-organic compound with antioxidant activity, towards astrocyte degeneration caused by exposure to simulated in vitro ischemic conditions and simult...
Modulation of chemical signaling: current problems after four decades of research. Symposium on the occasion of the retirement of Professor Manfred Göthert. Bonn [Germany], June 10, 2006.
Role of nitric oxide, nitroxidative and oxidative stress in wound healing.
Redox-regulated processes are relevant to wound healing. A balance between bioavailable nitric oxide (NO) concentration and a level of oxidative and nitroxidative stress in wounds may be crucial in wound repair. The high...
Involvement of prolactin and somatostatin in depression and the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs.
Neuropeptides have been implicated in the physiology and pathophysiology of stress responses and therefore may play an important role in the pathogenesis of affective disorders such as Major Depression Disorder (MDD). Th...
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): pathogenesis and therapy.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease leading to severe visual loss and legal blindness in the elderly population. Its pathogenesis, likely multifactorial, involving a complex interaction of metabolic, func...