As the average life expectancy of many populations throughout the world increases, so to does the incidence of such age-related neurodegenerative disorders as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases. Rapid advances in our understanding of the molecular genetics and environmental factors that either cause or increase risk for age-related neurodegenerative disor ders have been made in the past decade. The ability to evaluate, at the cellular and molecular level, abnormalities in postmortem brain tissue from patients, when taken together with the development of valuable animal and cell-culture models of neurodegenerative disorders has allowed the identification of sequences of events within neurons that result in their demise in specific neurodegenerative disorders. Though the genetic and environmental factors that pro mote neurodegeneration may differ among disorders, shared biochemical cascades that will ultimately lead to the death of neurons have been identified. These cascades involve oxyradical production, aberrant regulation of cellular ion homeostasis and activation of a stereotyped sequence of events involving mitochondrial dysfunction and activa tion of specific proteases. Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders provides a timely compilation of articles that encompasses fundamental mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, mechanisms that may prevent age-related neurodegenerative disorders are presented. Each chapter is written by an expert in the particular neurodegenerative disorder or mechanism or neuronal death discussed.

This book presents a series of clinical and pathologic observations that are thought to contribute to progressive incremental severity in neuronal cell loss and tissue atrophy in the cerebral cortex. The book includes a critical reappraisal of lesions in

The Molecular and Clinical Pathology of Neurodegenerative Disease brings together in one volume our current understanding of the molecular basis of neurodegeneration in humans, targeted at neuroscientists and graduate students in neuroscience, and the biomedical and biological sciences. Bringing together up-to-date molecular biology data with clinical evidence, this book sheds a light on common molecular mechanisms that underlie many different neurodegenerative diseases and addresses the molecular pathologies in each. The combined research and clinical background of the authors provides a unique perspective in relating clinical experiences with the molecular understanding needed to examine these diseases and is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about neurodegeneration. Provides an up-to-date summary of neurodegeneration at a molecular, cellular, and tissue level for the most common human disorders Describes the clinical background and underlying molecular processes for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, Prion, Motor Neuron, Huntington’s, and Multiple Sclerosis Highlights the state-of-the-art treatment options for each disorder Details examples of relevant cutting edge experimental systems, including genome editing and human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal models

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is one of the shared prominent hallmarks among various forms of neurodegeneration. Depending on the milieu in which microglia become activated, the polarization of microglia shows to be heterogeneous with diverse functional phenotypes that range from pro-inflammatory phenotypes to immunosuppressive phenotypes. Therefore, targeting microglial polarization holds great promise for the treatment of neurodegeneration. This eBook focuses on the potential mechanisms of microglial polarization that are critically associated with a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s disease (HD), Traumatic brain injury (TBI), glaucomatous neurodegeneration and prion diseases. This topic also involves the therapeutic targeting of microglial polarization by nutritional and pharmacological modulators. Moreover, this topic describes advanced technologies employed for studying microglia. Age-related changes in microglia functions are also discussed. Overall, this eBook provides comprehensive understandings of microglial polarization in the course of neurodegeneration, linking with aging-related microglial alterations and technologies developed for microglial studies. Hopefully, it will also give comprehensive insights into various aspects of therapeutic treatment for neurodegeneration, through targeting microglial polarization.

Researchers seeking problems that offer more hope of success often avoid subjects that seem to be difficult to approach experimentally, or subjects for which experimental results are difficult to interpret. The breakdown part of protein turnover in vivo, particularly in nervous tissue, was such a subject in the past – it was difficult to measure and difficult to explore the mechanisms involved. For factors that influence protein metabolism, it was thought that protein content, function, and distribution are controlled only by the synthetic mechanisms that can supply the needed specificity and response to stimuli. The role of breakdown was thought to be only a general metabolic digestion, elimination of excess polypeptides. We now know that the role of breakdown is much more complex: it has multiple functions, it is coupled to turnover, and it can affect protein composition, function, and synthesis. In addition to eliminating abnormal proteins, breakdown has many modulatory functions: it serves to activate and inactivate enzymes, modulate membrane function, alter receptor channel properties, affect transcription and cell cycle, form active peptides, and much more. The hydrolysis of peptide bonds often involves multiple steps, many enzymes, and cycles (such as ubiquination), and often requires the activity of enzyme complexes. Their activation, modification, and inactivation can thus play an important role in biological functions, with numerous families of proteases participating. The specific role of each remains to be elucidated.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

The Golgi apparatus is a central organelle that lies at the heart of the secretory pathway. It ensures post-translational protein modifications such as glycosylation and cleavage as well as protein sorting to neuronal axons and dendrites. Structural and functional alterations of the Golgi apparatus (fragmentation and atrophy), which are collectively termed Golgi pathology, are now recognized as a constant feature of many neuro-degenerative diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these changes and their precise relevance to neurodegeneration have not yet been completely elucidated. This eBook contains 13 reviews that address the molecular mechanisms of Golgi pathology in Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophies, and discuss their potential relevance to the pathological loss of neuronal cell bodies, axons and synapses.

Neurodegeneration is a key feature of several diseases that are referred to as neurodegenerative diseases. The process of neurodegeneration is not well-understood so the diseases that stem from it have, as yet, no cures. As such, studying the effects of these disorders can provide insight into the treatment, prevention, and future opportunities and challenges in this growing field. The Handbook of Research on Critical Examinations of Neurodegenerative Disorders is a critical scholarly resource that provides an extensive explanation of various neurodegenerative disorders based on existing studies to clarify etiology, pathological mechanisms, diagnosis, therapeutic interventions, as well as current status and future opportunities and challenges. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as dementia, mitochondrial dysfunction, and risk factors, this book is geared towards neurobiologists, neuropsychologists, neurophysiologists, neuropathologists, medical professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking research on the complexity of neurodegenerative disorders.