Is Chelation Therapy a Potential Treatment for Parkinson's Disease?

Iron loading in some brain regions occurs in Parkinson's Disease (PD), and it has been considered that its removal by iron chelators could be an appropriate therapeutic approach. Since neuroinflammation with microgliosis is also a common feature of PD, it is possible that iron is sequestered within cells as a result of the anaemia of chronic disease and remains unavailable to the chelator. In this review, the extent of neuroinflammation in PD is discussed together with the role played by glia cells, specifically microglia and astrocytes, in controlling iron metabolism during inflammation, together with the results of MRI studies. The current use of chelators in clinical medicine is presented together with a discussion of two clinical trials of PD patients where an iron chelator was administered and showed encouraging results. It is proposed that the use of anti-inflammatory drugs combined with an iron chelator might be a better approach to increase chelator efficacy.

Automated summary

This review explores the iron deposition in the brains of PD patients, the role of neuroinflammation and glia cells, and the potential therapeutic effects of iron chelators. The combination of anti-inflammatory drugs with iron chelators is proposed as a better approach to enhance chelator efficacy in treating PD patients.