Definition
Neurodegeneration is a progressive functional or structural neuronal loss related to various etiologies such as:
- genetic mutation
- incorrect protein folding and deficiency in the degradation pathways
- damage in membrane neurons
- mitochondrial dysfunction
- oxidative stress
- toxic molecule formation
- and neuro-inflammatory processes.
Neurodegeneration has been associated with diseases such as:
- Alzheimer’s
- Parkinson’s
- Huntington’s
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, among others.
They are characterized by neuronal loss and generally an accumulation of insoluble intracellular or extracellular material in certain brain regions.
Characteristics of Neurodegenerative disorders
Most neurodegenerative disorders:
- are of unknown etiology
- affect the elderly
- are progressive, and
- damage selected neuronal populations or brain regions .
There are some inherited forms of these disorders; however, most are sporadic occurrences (idiopathic) with genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and aging contributing as risk factors.
Examples of Neurodegenerative Disorders
The neurodegenerative disorders include:
- Alzheimer’s disease: this is the most common cause of dementia, in which the neural injury is primarily in the hippocampus and cortex.
- Parkinson’s disease: this is a disabling motor impairment disorder due to the loss of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons.
- Huntington’s disease: this is a motor disease characterized by excessive and abnormal movements resulting from the loss of a specific subset of striatal neurons
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in which progressive weakness and muscle atrophy are due to degeneration of spinal, bulbar, and cortical neurons.
- Prion disease.
- Motor neurone diseases (MND)
- Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)
- Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)