Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor symptoms such as tremor and rigidity, along with non-motor symptoms like cognitive decline and depression. Current dopaminergic therapies offer symptomatic relief but fail to halt disease progression, underscoring the urgent need for novel, disease-modifying treatments. This review examines the potential of repurposed drugs from various therapeutic categories—including immunomodulatory, cardiometabolic, and anti-infective agents—as promising therapeutic strategies for PD. Immunomodulatory agents such as c-Abl inhibitors (imatinib, nilotinib) and sargramostim have shown potential in reducing α-synuclein aggregation and neuroinflammation, although clinical outcomes have been mixed. Cardiometabolic drugs, notably glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists like exenatide, have demonstrated improvements in motor and cognitive symptoms, with ongoing phase III trials evaluating their disease-modifying potential. Anti-infective agents, including doxycycline and rifampicin, exhibit neuroprotective effects through anti-inflammatory and anti-aggregating actions. While some concerns regarding efficacy and toxicity persist, these repurposed drugs offer valuable insights into novel treatment approaches for PD. Additionally, emerging strategies such as gene therapy, enzyme replacement, and advanced drug delivery systems are discussed for their potential to address underlying disease mechanisms. Despite the absence of definitive disease-modifying therapies to date, the advancements in drug repurposing and innovative therapeutic approaches provide hope for future breakthroughs. Further large-scale clinical trials are necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of these treatments.
IJPRAS
