Do caffeine and more selective adenosine A_2A receptor antagonists protect against dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease?

ABSTRACT: The adenosine A_2A receptor is a major target of caffeine, the most widely used psychoactive substance worldwide. Large epidemiological studies have long shown caffeine consumption is a strong inverse predictor of Parkinson's disease (PD). In this review, we first examine the epidemiology of caffeine use vis-à-vis PD and follow this by looking at the evidence for adenosine A_2A receptor antagonists as potential neuroprotective agents. There is a wealth of accumulating biological, epidemiological and clinical evidence to support the further investigation of selective adenosine A_2A antagonists, as well as caffeine, as promising candidate therapeutics to fill the unmet need for disease modification of PD.

SUBMITTER: Chen JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8102090 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature