Preface

Parkinson's disease (PD) has been known to humankind since 5000 BC. In ancient Indian civilization, it was known as Kampavata, a condition with symptoms that closely resembled those of modern-day PD, i.e., karpadatale kampa (tremor in the hands and legs), nidrabhanga (sleep disturbances), and kshinmati (slowness of utterance and thought). In modern times, despite being described about 200 years ago, PD is not thoroughly understood due to its complex etiology and heterogeneity in terms of symptoms and progression. Though there are medications and therapies available to manage the symptoms of PD, there is no cure, which provides an opportunity for neurobiologists.

Animal models are precious tools for understanding pathophysiology and unraveling the molecular basis of neuronal degeneration, knowledge of which is immensely useful to screen potential neuroprotective molecules and decipher their mechanism of action. It is important to take advantage of the knowledge generated by biomedical researchers to develop novel therapeutic strategies that should be taken and tested through multiple levels of clinical trials.

The real test lies in connecting all these dots meaningfully and developing a reasonable cure for this neurodegenerative disorder. Thinking in this direction is the genesis for our book, *Parkinson's Disease – Animal Models, Current Therapies and Clinical Trials*. The book examines various topics related to PD, making it a useful resource for basic biomedical researchers, clinicians, technocrats, and science enthusiasts.

I wish to thank all the authors for their valuable contributions. I also wish to acknowledge the staff at IntechOpen, especially Publishing Process Manager Paula Gavran for her support. Thanks go to the publisher for giving me this opportunity to broaden the horizon of my understanding and sharpen my perceptions of PD.

I sincerely believe this book will help move us one step closer to reducing the burden of neurological disease.

> **Dr. Sarat Chandra Yenisetti, Ph.D.** Professor, Drosophila Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Nagaland University (Central), Lumami, Nagaland, India

**Zevelou Koza** Nagaland University, Lumami, Nagaland, India

**Devendra Kumar** Dehradun Institute of Technology University, Uttarakhand, India

## **Sushil Kumar Singh**

Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, India

## **Ankit Ganeshpurkar**

**1**

Section 1

s Disease

Parkinson'

Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Pune, India

## Section 1 Parkinson' s Disease

## **Chapter 1**
