Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative dis-ease characterized by the progressive degeneration of nigros-triatal dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Although the causative fac-tors of PD remain elusive, many studies on PD animal models or humans suggest that glial activation along with neuroinfla-mmatory processes contribute to the initiation or progression of PD. Additionally, several groups have proposed that dys-function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) combined with in-filtration of peripheral immune cells play important roles in the degeneration of DA neurons. However, these neuroinflamma-tory events have only been investigated separately, and the is-sue of whether these phenomena are neuroprotective or neu-rotoxic remains controversial. We here review the current knowledge regarding the functions of these neuroinflammatory processes in the brain. Finally, we describe therapeutic strat-egies for the regulation of neuroinflammation with the goal of improving the symptoms of PD. [BMB reports 2010; 43(4): 225-232