Parkinson’s disease (PD), the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, is characterized by an extensive and progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The incidence of PD is 1 percent of the population over the age of 60. This increases to 5 percent of the population over age 85. This makes aging is the biggest risk factor for developing PD. Parkinson’s disease symptoms include muscle rigidity, tremors, and changes in speech and gait. PD also had more severe insomnia and more symptoms of depression. The cause of PD is not known, but a number of genetic risk factors have now been characterized, as well as several genes which cause rare familial forms of PD. Environmental influences such as smoking, caffeine consumption, and pesticide exposure have been postulated to alter the risk of PD development, although the role of these remains unclear. PD is a multifactorial disease, with both genetic and environmental factors playing a role. Currently PD cannot be cured. Treatment predominantly focuses on symptomatic relief with drugs aiming to either restore the level of dopamine in the striatum or to act on striatal post-synaptic dopamine receptors, but none has yet been shown to slow the progression of the disease in humans.

Available drugs for PD include Levodopa, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), dopamine agonists, Glutamate antagonist, the putative N-meihyl-o-aspartaie (NMDA) receptor antagonists, COMT inhibitors, Anticholinergics, and the muscarinic receptor blockers, etc.

TargetMol’s Anti-Parkinson’s Disease Compound Library, containing 908 compounds with anti-PD activities or acting on main drug targets of PD, can be used for related drug discovery and pharmacology research.