The Progress of Active Immunotherapy for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder defined by nigrostriatal dopaminergic neuron loss and the pathological aggregation of alpha synuclein, yet current clinical interventions remain largely symptomatic and fail to alter long-term disease progression. Emerging evidence demonstrates that immune dysregulation and chronic neuroinflammation contribute significantly to PD pathology, supporting the rationale for active immunotherapy as a disease modifying strategy. This review examines contemporary active immunotherapy platforms including peptide vaccines, genetic vaccination strategies, and antigen sensitized dendritic cell (DC) vaccines with emphasis on the dual capacity of DC based approaches to enhance pathological protein clearance and restore immune homeostasis. Technical limitations and translational barriers are evaluated such as immune heterogeneity among patients, the blood-brain barrier, and variability in DC vaccine manufacturing. Finally, future research directions are proposed including individualized immunologic profiling for treatment stratification, long-acting immunomodulatory formulations, and development of isoform specific DC powder vaccines capable of targeted alpha synuclein engagement. Collectively, these advances highlight active immunotherapy as a promising pathway toward disease modification in Parkinson's disease.