Biochemistry of Parkinson's disease--insights from cellular models, animal models and human tissue specimens obtained by autopsy.

Parkinson's disease is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Although it is mostly a sporadic disorder, 15-30% of all cases are linked to a genetic background. On this ground, several cellular and animal models have been developed to investigate disease etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms. Nevertheless, several clinical issues cannot be investigated using models, thus making post-mortem studies necessary to complete the picture.