Antioxidant strategies for neurodegenerative diseases
- 1 April 2001
- journal article
- Published by Informa Healthcare in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents
- Vol. 11 (4), 573-585
- https://doi.org/10.1517/13543776.11.4.573
Abstract
A very large body of evidence supports the involvement of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative pathologies. Therefore, therapies based on administration of antioxidant and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging substances have been widely proposed for treatment of both acute and chronic neuropathological diseases. In the present review, several recent patents (mostly from 1998 - 2000) based on the proposed use of antioxidant strategies to treat neurodegenerative diseases are considered. In particular, the following classes of patents are examined: patents for novel antioxidant and ROS scavengers, pharmaceutical compositions in which antioxidant and ROS scavengers are claimed together with other pharmacological tools, patents based on new biotechnological and gene therapy approaches, and patents based on enzymatic manipulation of ROS production and elimination. In the comment, the most promising perspectives stemming from these patents are discussed; in particular: (i.) the usefulness of pharmaceutical compositions able to counteract the deleterious effects of excessive amounts of free radicals originating from different cellular process, without blocking the physiological beneficial action of their controlled production; (ii.) the potential beneficial effects of combining antioxidant treatments with modulation of the activity of receptors for excitatory amino acid and modulation of calcium levels; (iii.) the tremendous future impact of biotechnological and gene therapy techniques.Keywords
This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- Quercetin inhibits c-fos, heat shock protein, and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in injured astrocytesJournal of Neuroscience Research, 2000
- Prion Disease: A Loss of Antioxidant Function?Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2000
- Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress Plays a Key Role in Aging and ApoptosisIUBMB Life, 2000
- HYDROGEN PEROXIDE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE DAMAGE AND APOPTOSIS IN CEREBELLAR GRANULE CELLS: PROTECTION BY GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACTPharmacological Research, 2000
- Roles of NMDA receptor activity and nitric oxide production in brain developmentBrain Research Reviews, 2000
- Treatment of Alzheimer's DiseaseNew England Journal of Medicine, 1999
- Amyloid‐β Deposition in Alzheimer Transgenic Mice Is Associated with Oxidative StressJournal of Neurochemistry, 1998
- N -Acetylcysteine Enhances Hippocampal Neuronal Survival After Transient Forebrain Ischemia in RatsStroke, 1995
- Extension of Life-Span by Overexpression of Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase in Drosophila melanogasterScience, 1994
- Aging: A Theory Based on Free Radical and Radiation ChemistryJournal of Gerontology, 1956