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Mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in oxidative stress-induced ...

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INTRODUCTION<br />

2<br />

PD, also called idiopathic PD or primary park<strong>in</strong>sonism, is the most common<br />

movement disorder besides essential tremor and the second most common age-related<br />

neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Fahn and Przedborski 2000,<br />

Tanner and Aston 2000, Mayeux 2003, Fahn and Sulzer 2004). Moreover, PD is the<br />

ma<strong>in</strong> cause <strong>of</strong> chronic progressive Park<strong>in</strong>sonism account<strong>in</strong>g for ~80% <strong>of</strong> cases.<br />

Park<strong>in</strong>sonism, also known as Park<strong>in</strong>son‟s syndrome, atypical Park<strong>in</strong>son‟s or secondary<br />

Park<strong>in</strong>son‟s, is a term which refers to the neurological syndrome characterised by three<br />

card<strong>in</strong>al motor symptoms: bradyk<strong>in</strong>esia, rigidity and tremor.<br />

Prevalence and <strong>in</strong>cidence <strong>of</strong> PD<br />

More than 4.5 million people worldwide were affected by PD <strong>in</strong> 2007. Due to<br />

<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g life expectancy <strong>of</strong> the general population and multiplication <strong>of</strong> effective<br />

therapies, the number <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividuals over 50 years <strong>of</strong> age with PD was expected to<br />

double to around 9 million patients <strong>in</strong> the world‟s 10 most populous nations between<br />

2007 and the year 2030 (Dorsey et al. 2007). At the time <strong>of</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g, PD is affect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

approximately 6 million people worldwide.<br />

In regards to disease epidemiology, the mean age onset <strong>of</strong> sporadic PD (also<br />

known as idiopathic PD) is 55 years, but is now thought to be <strong>in</strong> the early-to-mid 60s<br />

(Inzelberg et al. 2002). Early onset <strong>of</strong> PD (EOPD) is rare, about 4% <strong>of</strong> patients develop<br />

cl<strong>in</strong>ical signs <strong>of</strong> the disease before 50 years (Van Den Eeden et al. 2003). With<strong>in</strong><br />

EOPD, there appear to be two groups namely: young-onset PD (YOPD), with onset<br />

between 21 and 40 years, and juvenile Park<strong>in</strong>sonism (JP), with onset at

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