On Parkinson's disease and its mathematical models

Abstract

The article examines hypotheses for the occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD). Historically, the dopamine hypothesis was the first and distinctive feature of the pathology of PD is the depletion of dopaminergic cells, and the drug L-DOPA is the only remedy that alleviates the course of the disease. Other hypotheses (insulin resistance, immunotherapy, serotonin) are less studied and require deeper insight into the brain. Insulin resistance has received the fundamental study using the theory of biochemical systems (the mathematical model contains 339 equations), unfortunately, without practical conclusions. The immunotherapy hypothesis in neurological diseases is even more in its infancy. L-DOPA is very effective in the first years of use. However, over time, patients begin to experience dyskinesias, the most troublesome side effect of L-DOPA. Experimental evidence points to serotonin as a promising anti-dyskinetic therapy for PD patients treated with L-DOPA. But when will it be possible to figure this out, bearing in mind that fifteen serotonin receptors have already been identified? In our opinion, the newest hypothesis – a disorder of fat metabolism most closely reflects the essence of Parkinson's disease, but the hypothesis is in the initial state of research. Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that synthesizes many biologically active substances – adipocytokines, which affect insulin resistance (IR), glucose and lipid metabolism, and inflammation. Their study is complicated because some members of the adipocytokine family reduce IR, while others increase it. In conclusion, we note that the etiology of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease remains unclear.