PMID- 23348013 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20130827 LR - 20220321 IS - 1879-016X (Electronic) IS - 0163-7258 (Linking) VI - 138 IP - 2 DP - 2013 May TI - GDNF, NGF and BDNF as therapeutic options for neurodegeneration. PG - 155-75 LID - S0163-7258(13)00016-8 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2013.01.004 [doi] AB - Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and the neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are important for the survival, maintenance and regeneration of specific neuronal populations in the adult brain. Depletion of these neurotrophic factors has been linked with disease pathology and symptoms, and replacement strategies are considered as potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases. GDNF administration has recently been shown to be an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease, with clinical trials currently in progress. Trials with NGF for Alzheimer's disease are ongoing, with some degree of success. Preclinical results using BDNF also show much promise, although there are accompanying difficulties. Ultimately, the administration of a therapy involving proteins in the brain has inherent problems. Because of the blood-brain-barrier, the protein must be infused directly, produced by viral constructs, secreted from implanted protein-secreting cells or actively transported across the brain. An alternative to this is the use of a small molecule agonist, a modulator or enhancer targeting the associated receptors. We evaluate these neurotrophic factors as potential short or long-term treatments, weighing up preclinical and clinical results with the possible effects on the underlying neurodegenerative process. CI - Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FAU - Allen, Shelley J AU - Allen SJ AD - Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson St, Bristol BS1 3NY, UK. Shelley.allen@bristol.ac.uk FAU - Watson, Judy J AU - Watson JJ FAU - Shoemark, Deborah K AU - Shoemark DK FAU - Barua, Neil U AU - Barua NU FAU - Patel, Nikunj K AU - Patel NK LA - eng GR - 106/ALZS_/Alzheimer's Society/United Kingdom PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PT - Review DEP - 20130121 PL - England TA - Pharmacol Ther JT - Pharmacology & therapeutics JID - 7905840 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 0 (Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 0 (Ligands) RN - 0 (Nerve Growth Factors) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/administration & dosage/chemistry/metabolism/therapeutic use MH - Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/administration & dosage/chemistry/metabolism/therapeutic use MH - Humans MH - Ligands MH - Models, Molecular MH - Nerve Growth Factors/administration & dosage/chemistry/metabolism/*therapeutic use MH - Neurodegenerative Diseases/*drug therapy/metabolism EDAT- 2013/01/26 06:00 MHDA- 2013/08/28 06:00 CRDT- 2013/01/26 06:00 PHST- 2012/04/25 00:00 [received] PHST- 2013/01/07 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2013/01/26 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2013/01/26 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2013/08/28 06:00 [medline] AID - S0163-7258(13)00016-8 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2013.01.004 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Pharmacol Ther. 2013 May;138(2):155-75. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2013.01.004. Epub 2013 Jan 21.