Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Alzheimer’s (AD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are characterized by progressive loss of structure or function neurons. Current therapies for NDs only symptomatic long-term ineffective. This challenge has promoted the development new against relevant targets in these pathologies. In this revie...

alzheimer’s disease (ad) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. almost 47 million people suffer from dementia worldwide. ad accounts for approximately 60%–80% of all dementia cases. three major pathologies characterize the disease: senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and inflammation. we review the literature on events contributing to the inflammation. those i...

Autophagy, a catabolic process necessary for the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis, has recently been the focus of numerous human diseases and conditions, such as aging, cancer, development, immunity, longevity, and neurodegeneration. However, the continued presence of autophagy is essential for cell survival and dysfunctional autophagy is thought to speed up the progression of neurodege...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among the elderly population. AD, which is characterized as a disease of cognitive deficits, is mainly associated with an increase of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) in the brain. A growing body of recent studies suggests that protein kinase C (PKC) promotes the production of the secretory form of amyloid precursor protein (sAPPα) via the acti...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques composed mainly of amyloid-β (Aβ) protein. Overproduction or slow clearance of Aβ initiates a cascade of pathologic events that may lead to formation of neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal cell death, and dementia. Although immunotherapy in animal models has been demonstrated to be successful at removing plaques or prefi...

Cx3cr1, the receptor for the chemokine Cx3cl1 (fractalkine), has been implicated in the progression and severity of Alzheimer's disease-like pathology in mice, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A complicating factor is that Cx3cr1 has been demonstrated in both neurons and microglia. Here, we have dissected the differences between neuronal and microglial Cx3cr1, specifically by compa...

Metal ions, including copper and zinc, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease through a variety of mechanisms including increased amyloid-β affinity and redox effects. Recent reports have demonstrated that the amyloid-β monomer does not necessarily travel through a definitive intermediary en-route to a stable amyloid fibril structure. Rather, amyloid-β misfolding may fo...