Neuroprotective Effect of Naloxone in Inflammation-Mediated Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration - Drugs of Abuse: Neurological Reviews and Protocols - page 47

Fig. 2. Proposed mechanism of action for the neuroprotective effect of naloxone. By
inhibiting the LPS-stimulated release of neurotoxic factors such as cytokines TNF-

and IL-1 and free radicals such as NO and superoxide, naloxone affords protection to

dopaminergic neurons against infl ammation-mediated degeneration.

true that inhibition of neutrophil activation alone may not be suffi cient to reverse
the course of the catastrophic cascade of the multiorgan failures (23 , 81) .
In animal studies and clinical trials, (-)-naloxone has a relatively large safety
margin. (+)-Naloxone, devoid of opioid activity, would be a better choice as a
candidate agent for potential use in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
such as PD and infl ammation-related disorders in general.

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