Table 2 Current treatments for Parkinson's disease
From: Mitochondrial therapeutics in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
Therapy | Results | Mitochondrial involvement? |
|---|---|---|
Levadopa and DA agonists | Improves PD symptoms | May improve mitochondrial function in neurons by restoring nigrostriatal signaling |
MAO-B inhibitors | Blocks oxidative deamination | May improve mitochondrial function in neurons targeted by DA and may decrease ROS produced by mitochondria |
COMT inhibitors | Blocks catechol metabolism | May improve mitochondrial function in neurons by restoring nigrostriatal signaling |
Anticholinergic drugs | Most effective in alleviating tremor and rigidity | May improve mitochondrial function in striatal neurons by balancing the DA and acetylcholine |
NMDA receptor antagonists | Can suppress dyskinesia | May decrease amount of ROS produced due to excessive intracellular Ca2+ |
Coenzyme Q10 | Less disability develops in patients given Coenzyme Q10 compared with placebo in one study [59] | May increase electron flow in electron transport chain and decrease ROS production |
Creatine | Not rejected as futile in a phase II futility clinical trial [58] | May increase high-energy phosphate pool and decrease ROS production |