Use of growth factors for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Neurotrophic factors are a subset of growth factors that promote survival, differentiation and maintenance of neuronal cells in the developing and adult nervous systems. These factors can potentially be a vital tool for the treatment of progressive neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Impairments of initiation and control of movements caused by significant degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in PD can be targeted by intracerebral infusion of recombinant protein, cell-based ex vivo therapy or viral vector-mediated in vivo gene therapy using the neurotrophic factors. Since the finding that the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor might promote survival and regeneration of dopaminergic neurons in experimental models and recent clinical trials, the use of neurotrophic factors has been considered central in novel therapeutic strategies that slow or reverse the deleterious symptoms in advanced PD. This article summarizes a series of neurotrophic factors that provide neuroprotection or restoration for dopaminergic neurons in PD, and the potential clinical availability of this approach for the treatment of patients with PD.