Advancements in Understanding and Treating Parkinson's Disease: A Comprehensive Review

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurological illness that causes movement disorders such as bradykinesia, rest tremors, and stiffness. Additionally, there is postural instability. Current treatments for Parkinson’s disease primarily aim to restore dopaminergic tone in the striatum. Non-dopamine-dependent characteristics of Parkinson’s disease, such as freezing of gait, cognitive impairment, and other non-motor symptoms, have a significant influence on quality of life and cannot be altered by these treatments. Advancements in understanding the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease are leading to new therapy options. Some treatments for Parkinson’s disease try to control symptoms without causing side effects, while others aim to halt pathology and reduce neuronal loss. Treatments for Parkinson’s disease aim to control symptoms while minimising negative side effects. Current treatments aim to slow pathology, reduce neuronal loss, and delay disease progression. In this latter regard, there has been much interest in drug repurposing (the use of established drugs for a new indication), with many drugs being reported to affect PD-relevant intracellular processes. This approach offers an expedited route to the clinic, given that pharmacokinetic and safety data are potentially already available. Gene therapies and cell-based treatments, as well as neurosurgical strategies like deep brain stimulation, are entering clinical trials to improve symptomatic and regenerative treatments for Parkinson’s disease. The treatment landscape is expected to evolve significantly in the coming years. This article presents an overview of emerging therapeutic techniques in clinical trials.