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Trophic factors for Parkinson's disease: Where are we and where do we go from here?
Author(s) -
Paul Gesine,
Sullivan Aideen M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.14102
Subject(s) - neurturin , neuroprotection , glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor , neurotrophic factors , clinical trial , parkinson's disease , dopaminergic , neuroscience , medicine , disease , psychology , bioinformatics , dopamine , biology , receptor
Perhaps the most important unmet clinical need in Parkinson's disease ( PD ) is the development of a therapy that can slow or halt disease progression. Extensive preclinical research has provided evidence for the neurorestorative properties of several growth factors, yet only a few have been evaluated in clinical studies. Attempts to achieve neuroprotection by addressing cell‐autonomous mechanisms and targeting dopaminergic neurons have been disappointing. Four different trophic factors have so far entered clinical trials in PD : glial cell line‐derived growth factor, its close structural and functional analog neurturin, platelet‐derived growth factor and cerebral dopaminergic neurotrophic factor. This article reviews the pre‐clinical evidence for the neuroprotective and neurorestorative actions of these growth factors and discusses limitations of preclinical models, which may hamper successful translation to the clinic. We summarize the previous and ongoing clinical trials using growth factors in PD and emphasize the caveats in clinical trial design that may prevent the further development and registration of potentially neuroprotective and neurorestorative treatments for individuals suffering from PD .