MDS 2020 | Potential pharmacological candidates targeting inflammation in Parkinson’s disease

Malú Tansey, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, discusses the areas of potential pharmacological therapy for Parkinson’s disease. These include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cannabinoids, immunotherapy and diabetes drugs exenatide and PPARɣ agonists. However, clinical trials of these drugs have yielded mixed results. Dr Tansey believes this is due to inflammation playing a role in the early stages of Parkinson’s pathology, decades before motor symptom onset. Therefore, the cohort of patients observed in clinical trials is not appropriate for anti-inflammatory treatment. This interview was recorded during an online conference call with The Video Journal of Neurology (VJNeurology).