ABSTRACT
Initial evidence that oxidants and oxidative modications of neuronal macromolecules are involved in PD pathogenesis came from the accidental use of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a synthetic analog of heroin. Individuals that had injected MPTP developed a rapid-onset parkinsonian syndrome characterized by many clinical features of PD.3 As discussed below, one of the actions of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), the active metabolite of MPTP, is to inhibit complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and increase the production of reactive species.
