Neurodegenerative disease

A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophy, and prion diseases. Neurodegeneration can be found in the brain at many different levels of neuronal circuitry, ranging from molecular to systemic. Because there is no known way to reverse the progressive degeneration of neurons, these diseases are considered to be incurable; however research has shown that the two major contributing factors to neurodegeneration are oxidative stress and inflammation. Biomedical research has revealed many similarities between these diseases at the subcellular level, including atypical protein assemblies (like proteinopathy) and induced cell death. These similarities suggest that therapeutic advances against one neurodegenerative disease might ameliorate other diseases as well. Within neurodegenerative diseases, it is estimated that 55 million people worldwide had dementia in 2019, and that by 2050 this figure will increase to 139 million people. Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that results in the loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical structures, resulting in gross atrophy of the temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and parts of the frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus. It is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Even with billions of dollars being used to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, no effective treatments have been found. However, clinical trials have developed certain compounds that could potentially change the future of Alzheimer's disease treatments. Within clinical trials stable and effective AD therapeutic strategies have a 99.5% failure rate.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (123)

Related people (47)

Related units (2)

Related concepts (139)

Related courses (7)

Related lectures (74)

Related MOOCs (13)

BIO-480: Neuroscience: from molecular mechanisms to disease

The goal of the course is to guide students through the essential aspects of molecular neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases. The student will gain the ability to dissect the molecular basis of

BIO-487: Scientific project design in translational neurosciences

The goal of this course is to instruct the student how fundamental scientific knowledge, acquired through the study of fundamental disciplines, including biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, physiolo

NX-423: Translational neuroengineering

This course integrates knowledge in basic, systems, clinical and computational neuroscience, and engineering with the goal of translating this integrated knowledge into the development of novel method

Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging: Ultrasounds, X-ray, positron emission tomography (PET) and applications

Learn how principles of basic science are integrated into major biomedical imaging modalities and the different techniques used, such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), ultrasounds and positron emissi

Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging: Ultrasounds, X-ray, positron emission tomography (PET) and applications

Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Learn about magnetic resonance, from the physical principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to the basic concepts of image reconstruction (MRI).

Multidisciplinary Investigation of the Gut-Brain Ecosystem in a Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Arielle Louise Planchette

The search for an understanding of the causal elements that lead to neurodegenerative diseases has motivated researchers for decades. Today, Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of dementia

EPFL2022

Opportunities and challenges of alpha-synuclein as a potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies

Hilal Lashuel

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disease, develops and progresses for 10-15 years before the clinical diagnostic symptoms of the disease are manifested. F

NATURE PORTFOLIO2022

Dopamine Transporter, PhosphoSerine129 alpha-Synuclein and alpha-Synuclein Levels in Aged LRRK2 G2019S Knock-In and Knock-Out Mice

Salvatore Novello

The G2019S mutation in leucine rich-repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a major cause of familial Parkinson's disease. We previously reported that G2019S knock-in mice manifest dopamine transporter dysfunction

MDPI2022

Autophagy

Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek αὐτόφαγος, , meaning "self-devouring" and κύτος, , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent regulated mechanism. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. Although initially characterized as a primordial degradation pathway induced to protect against starvation, it has become increasingly clear that autophagy also plays a major role in the homeostasis of non-starved cells.

Thioflavin

Thioflavins are fluorescent dyes that are available as at least two compounds, namely Thioflavin T and Thioflavin S. Both are used for histology staining and biophysical studies of protein aggregation. In particular, these dyes have been used since 1989 to investigate amyloid formation. They are also used in biophysical studies of the electrophysiology of bacteria. Thioflavins are corrosive, irritants, and are acutely toxic, causing serious eye damage. Thioflavin T has been used in research into Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Krabbe disease

Krabbe disease (KD) (also known as globoid cell leukodystrophy or galactosylceramide lipidosis) is a rare and often fatal lysosomal storage disease that results in progressive damage to the nervous system. KD involves dysfunctional metabolism of sphingolipids and is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. The disease is named after the Danish neurologist Knud Krabbe (1885–1961). Symptoms in asymptomatic infantile-onset (

AMPylation: The Story of HYPE

Explores AMPylation's role in cellular communication and neurodegeneration, with potential implications for Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's Disease: Genetic Factors

Explores genetic factors in Parkinson's disease, focusing on a-synuclein, Parkin, and PINK1, and their impact on mitochondrial quality control.

Understanding Tau Pathologies

Explores Tau pathologies in Alzheimer's and related disorders, covering hyperphosphorylation, propagation, genetic associations, and therapeutic interventions.