The antioxidant ebselen prevents neurotoxicity and clinical symptoms in a primate model of Parkinson's disease.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), via its major metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)), produces in primates including humans clinical, biochemical, and neuropathological changes similar to those which occur in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Ebselen is an antioxidant drug with glutathione peroxidase-like activity and a proven neuroprotective action in stroke patients. Here we show that Ebselen, when administered before, during, and after MPTP injections, prevents both neuronal loss and clinical symptoms in a primate MPTP model of Parkinson's disease.