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Biomolecules
Special Issues
Parkinson’s Disease and Associated Disorders
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Parkinson’s Disease and Associated Disorders

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 22097

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Catherine Cahill

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Interests: neurodegenerative diseases; metals and oxidative stress; inflammation and cancer; gut-brain axis

Special Issue Information

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder that strikes in middle age, and is associated with loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Non-motor symptoms of PD including weight loss, changes in whole-body metabolism, depression, and constipation are often some of the prodromal symptoms of the disease. The synaptic protein alpha synuclein is dysregulated in both familial and idiopathic PD, and is the major protein contained in the extracellular aggregates of the characteristic Lewy bodies of the disease. Here, we recruit manuscripts focused on recent developments in PD research, including the association of PD with other diseases such as alcohol use disorder, diabetes, depression, sleep disorders. We will integrate knowledge from the vast field of iron homeostasis and focus on the culprit molecule alpha synuclein from gut to brain with comparisons to other related synucleinopathies, dementia with Lewy bodies (LBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). We hope to alert the research community of new research areas that will offer new hope for the therapy of these most devastating diseases.

Dr. Catherine Cahill
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Synucleinopathies
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Lewy Body Dementia
  • Multiple System Atrophy
  • alcohol use disorder
  • diabetes
  • depression
  • gut-brain axis
  • Mitochondrial dysfunction
  • Iron Dyshomeostasis
  • alpha synuclein
  • iron regulatory proteins

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

17 pages, 1216 KiB  
Review
Treatment Options for Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
by Frank C. Church
Biomolecules 2021, 11(4), 612; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11040612 - 20 Apr 2021
Cited by 76 | Viewed by 17874
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) usually presents in older adults and typically has both motor and non-motor dysfunctions. PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting from dopaminergic neuronal cell loss in the mid-brain substantia nigra pars compacta region. Outlined here is an integrative medicine and [...] Read more.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) usually presents in older adults and typically has both motor and non-motor dysfunctions. PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting from dopaminergic neuronal cell loss in the mid-brain substantia nigra pars compacta region. Outlined here is an integrative medicine and health strategy that highlights five treatment options for people with Parkinson’s (PwP): rehabilitate, therapy, restorative, maintenance, and surgery. Rehabilitating begins following the diagnosis and throughout any additional treatment processes, especially vis-à-vis consulting with physical, occupational, and/or speech pathology therapist(s). Therapy uses daily administration of either the dopamine precursor levodopa (with carbidopa) or a dopamine agonist, compounds that preserve residual dopamine, and other specific motor/non-motor-related compounds. Restorative uses strenuous aerobic exercise programs that can be neuroprotective. Maintenance uses complementary and alternative medicine substances that potentially support and protect the brain microenvironment. Finally, surgery, including deep brain stimulation, is pursued when PwP fail to respond positively to other treatment options. There is currently no cure for PD. In conclusion, the best strategy for treating PD is to hope to slow disorder progression and strive to achieve stability with neuroprotection. The ultimate goal of any management program is to improve the quality-of-life for a person with Parkinson’s disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Parkinson’s Disease and Associated Disorders)
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19 pages, 821 KiB  
Review
Alpha-Synuclein in Alcohol Use Disorder, Connections with Parkinson’s Disease and Potential Therapeutic Role of 5’ Untranslated Region-Directed Small Molecules
by Catherine M. Cahill, Rozaleen Aleyadeh, Jin Gao, Changning Wang and Jack T. Rogers
Biomolecules 2020, 10(10), 1465; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10101465 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3448
Abstract
Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is a 140-amino acid (aa) protein encoded by the Synuclein alpha SNCA gene. It is the synaptic protein associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is the most highly expressed protein in the Lewy bodies associated with PD and other alpha synucleopathies, [...] Read more.
Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is a 140-amino acid (aa) protein encoded by the Synuclein alpha SNCA gene. It is the synaptic protein associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is the most highly expressed protein in the Lewy bodies associated with PD and other alpha synucleopathies, including Lewy body dementia (LBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Iron deposits are present in the core of Lewy bodies, and there are reports suggesting that divalent metal ions including Cu2+ and Fe2+ enhance the aggregation of α-Syn. Differential expression of α-Syn is associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), and specific genetic variants contribute to the risk for alcoholism, including alcohol craving. Spliced variants of α-Syn, leading to the expression of several shorter forms which are more prone to aggregation, are associated with both PD and AUD, and common transcript variants may be able to predict at-risk populations for some movement disorders or subtypes of PD, including secondary Parkinsonism. Both PD and AUD are associated with liver and brain iron dyshomeostasis. Research over the past decade has shown that α-Syn has iron import functions with an ability to oxidize the Fe3+ form of iron to Fe2+ to facilitate its entry into cells. Our prior research has identified an iron-responsive element (IRE) in the 5’ untranslated region (5’UTR) of α-Syn mRNA, and we have used the α-Syn 5’UTR to screen for small molecules that modulate its expression in the H4 neuronal cell line. These screens have led us to identify several interesting small molecules capable of both decreasing and increasing α-Syn expression and that may have the potential, together with the recently described mesenchymal stem cell therapies, to normalize α-Syn expression in different regions of the alcoholic and PD brain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Parkinson’s Disease and Associated Disorders)
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