New Challenges of Parkinson’s Disease, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will be supervised by Dr. Cristina Agliardi and Dr. Franca R. Guerini, assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Dr. Peter Antony Barbuti.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms including sleep and mood disorders and cognitive, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. The etiology of the disease in most patients is unknown, but different genetic causes have been identified. Moreover, the existing treatments are limited in effect and mainly address the symptoms rather than the cause or the progressive course. Improving our understanding of what causes the complexity and diversity of PD is a major challenge for researchers. Tools are needed to group people with similar types of PD so that individuals who are most likely to benefit from clinical trials can be studied and their responses to treatment can be compared in a meaningful way. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the latest research on PD in terms of:

• Etiology understanding: genetic and environmental influences, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein aggregation, misfolding and cell-to-cell spreading mechanisms, neuroinflammation, etc.;
• New biomarkers discovery: imaging scans (MRI, CT), extracellular vesicles in biofluids, genetics, epigenetics and microbiome analysis;
• Novel disease-modifying treatments: gene therapy, deep brain stimulation and animal models;
• Strategies that provide symptoms relief: diet, exercise, rehabilitation and stress reduction.

We welcome both original research and review articles.

Dr. Franca Rosa Rosa Guerini
Dr. Cristina Agliardi
Guest Editors

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