PPARγ as a therapeutic target to rescue mitochondrial function in neurological disease

Juan Carlos Corona, Michael R. Duchen, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Available online 25 June 2016, ISSN 0891-5849, doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2016.06.023.

We discuss the mechanisms underlying those beneficial effects in particular in relation to mitochondrial function, antioxidant defence, cell death and inflammation, and suggest that the PPAR-gamma agonists show significant promise as therapeutic agents in otherwise intractable neurological disease.
The effect of PPAR-gamma activation has also been studied in Friedreich’s ataxia, Pioglitazone, which seems to have fewer side effects than rosiglitazone is on a phase III clinical trial for its neuroprotective properties. The project, titled "Effect of pioglitazone administered to patients with Friedreich’s ataxia: proof of concept". However, the antecedents and possible consequences should be taken into consideration when PPAR-gamma agonist drugs are considered as possible therapeutic agents for FRDA patients.

 PPARγ as a therapeutic target to rescue mitochondrial function in neurological disease