Abstract:

What is the rationale for immunotherapies in Parkinsonian syndromes (PS)? PS are neurodegenerative diseases which are clinically characterized by a hypokinetic phenotype in combination with additional motor and non-motor symptoms. One major pathological hallmark of all PS consists of a non-physiological detrimental accumulation of protein aggregates which appear intracellularly in neurons and glial cells but also in the extracellular space. Depending on the pathogenic protein, PS can be divided into synucleinopathies, characterized by aggregation of the protein alpha-Synuclein (aSyn), and tauopathies, characterized by aggregation of the protein Tau. Clinical syndromes of synucleinopathies include Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and dementia with Lewy bodies, and tauopathies include progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration.