Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants for treatment of Parkinson's disease: Preclinical and clinical outcomes

•MTAs are a novel class of antioxidant molecules targeted to the mitochondria.•MTAs attenuate oxidative damage underlying mitochondrial dysfunction.•MTAs show promise for treatment of many neurodegenerative diseases including PD.•Recent advances and alternative strategies of MTA therapy in PD are discussed.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, and no cure or disease-modifying therapies exist. Several lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have a central role in the dopaminergic neurodegeneration of Parkinson's disease. In this context, mitochondria-targeted therapies that improve mitochondrial function may have great promise in the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease. In this review, we discuss the recent developments in mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and their potential beneficial effects as a therapy for ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Misfolded Proteins, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Neurodegenerative Diseases.