Neurodegenerative Diseases: Regenerative Mechanisms and Novel Therapeutic Approaches

Abstract

Regeneration refers to regrowth of tissue in the central nervous system. It includes generation of new neurons, glia, myelin, and synapses, as well as the regaining of essential functions: sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, regeneration within the nervous system is very slow compared to other body systems. This relative slowness is attributed to increased vulnerability to irreversible cellular insults and the loss of function due to the very long lifespan of neurons, the stretch of cells and cytoplasm over several dozens of inches throughout the body, insufficiency of the tissue-level waste removal system, and minimal neural cell proliferation/self-renewal capacity. In this context, the current review summarized the most common features of major neurodegenerative disorders; their causes and consequences and proposed novel therapeutic approaches.

Pharmacological Stimulation of Nurr1 Promotes Cell Cycle Progression in Adult Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells

“…Attempts to treat neurodegenerative diseases, including AD and PD, were made using several pharmacological mechanisms [107]. Neurodegeneration outcomes, including neuronal cell death and synaptic loss, lead to a variety of neurological impairments, including cognitive dysfunction [108]. Therefore, triggering adult neurogenesis through the regulation of the cell cycle may be necessary for repairing neuronal loss due to neurodegenerative disease and improving functional impairments.…”

Gene Therapy for Neurodegenerative Diseases: Slowing Down the Ticking Clock

“…It seems that certain environmental or lifestyle factors combined with genetic factors increase the risk for certain neurodegenerative disease but aging is considered to be the most important risk factor for the sporadic cases (Brown et al, 2005). Although each neurodegenerative disease has a different pathophysiology, they all lead to damage to the nervous system due to features such as cell death, impaired/failure of axonal regeneration, demyelination, and/or structural and functional neuronal deficits (Hussain et al, 2018). These pathological features occur in different combinations and their causes can be either genetic or unknown (Hussain et al, 2018).…”

Neuroprotective effects of Momordica charantia: A review from preclinical studies

“…There are different types of NDs including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Motor neuron diseases (MND), Huntington's disease (HD), and Prion disease. Among these, AD, PD, MS and HD are the most commonly occurring NDs (Hussain et al, 2018). Neuronal cell death is considered as a major hallmark of NDs.…”