Encyclopedia of Parkinson's Disease: Volume VIII (Advanced Therapies)

The advanced therapies in the field of Parkinson's disease (PD) are discussed extensively in this book. This disease is clinically characterized by distinct progressive motor and non-motor symptoms, pathologically due to loss of dopamine generating cells and intra-neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions comprised mainly of synuclein. A considerable proportion of the cells in the substantia nigra are already lost before patients are first diagnosed with even the earliest symptoms of PD at the clinic. This damage continues irrespective of the available therapies until the cell loss is so high that the quality of normal life is endangered. The dopamine precursor levodopa is the most important drug presently available for the treatment of PD. Nevertheless, for most PD patients, the optimum clinical benefit from levodopa reduces after about five to six years of treatment. The aim of this book is to provide the readers with a comprehension regarding the mechanisms of degeneration as well as formulation of disease modifying therapies.