Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for treating neurodegeneration in patients diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Intranasal therapeutic agents, e.g., chelators, are administered to the upper third of the nasal cavity to bypass the blood-brain barrier and access the central nervous system directly to avoid unwanted and potentially lethal systemic side effects. Therapeutic agents include those substances that interact with iron and/or copper such as metal chelators generally, including but not limited to iron chelators, copper chelators, and antioxidants. A particular example of such therapeutic agents is the iron chelator deferoxamine (DFO).