ABSTRACT

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an adult neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 1" of the population over 65 years and 4"–5" over 80 years of age. The presence of LBs, the identification of genes associated with the disease, epidemiological data, and serendipitous exposure to molecules leading to the development of PD have provided cues on the molecular deficits that characterize the pathology. Current therapies for PD are directed at specific symptoms of the disease but do not halt the neurodegenerative process. Repurposing or repositioning drugs is considered a very interesting strategy for opening novel therapeutic perspectives in neurodegenerative diseases. This chapter ascertains the search for symptomatic and disease-modifying therapies that best suit PD patients' needs is currently following new routes that include the repurposing of marketed drugs, whose safety and tolerability. It describes the phase II clinical trials testing repurposed drugs in PD are ongoing for a few candidates.