Class-IIa Histone Deacetylase Inhibition Promotes the Growth of Neural Processes and Protects Them Against Neurotoxic Insult.

Small molecule histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDIs) hold much promise as pharmacological modifiers of the epigenetic status of the central nervous system (CNS), given their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This is particularly relevant given the lack of disease-modifying therapies for many neurodegenerative diseases and that epigenetic perturbations are increasingly recognised as playing a key role in their pathophysiology. In particular, emerging evidence in recent years has shown that epigenetic dysregulation may contribute to dopaminergic neuronal death in Parkinson's disease.