GDNF therapy for Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

With an increase in the aging population, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a disabling neurodegenerative disorder mainly affecting motor function, will inevitably present a challenge to an already overburdened healthcare system. Current medical and surgical therapies offer symptomatic relief but do not provide a cure. Experimental studies suggest that GDNF has the ability to protect degenerating dopamine neurons in PD as well as promote regeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. However, clinical trials of GDNF infusion to date remain inconclusive. This review will examine the experimental and clinical evidence of GDNF use in PD with particular focus on its potential as an effective therapy in the treatment of PD.

Keywords::

• cell transplantation
• GDNF
• neuroprotection
• Parkinson’s disease
• regeneration
• trophic factor

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Karim Mukhida is supported by fellowships provided by the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation and the Parkinson Society Canada and a Killam Predoctoral Scholarship. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.