Alzheimers Dementia Int | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Short Communication | Open Access
Maha Rizk*
Department of Therapeutical Chemistry, National Research Center, Egyp
Fulltext PDFThe common neurodegenerative diseases are mostly idiopathic disturbances of unclear pathogenesis. Most common diseases are possibly expected to be induced from a complex interaction among multiple predisposing genes and other factors. In this concern, genetic mapping and gene-isolation created by the Human Genome Project helped in investigation of genes involved in the inherited forms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) [1]. The aggregates of Aβ42 and α-synuclein which are neurotoxic in both diseases, may explain the pathogenesis not only of the inherited forms of these diseases but also of the idiopathic variety. Such hypothesis on the cause and pathogenesis help to identify new treatment targets for these debilitating disorders. PD begins between ages 50 and 65, before onset of AD, with a few cases starting before the age of 40. With a prevalence of around 3 cases per 1,000 people, PD is less common than AD but still an important cause of neurological disorder among people [2]. As in AD, symptoms of PD result from destruction and loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, which is necessary in nerve cell communication, and in a movement-related part of the brain called the substantia nigra. The cells in this part are thought to contain abnormal accumulations of a protein, called “Lewy bodies” [3].
Rizk M. Alzheimer and Parkinson.Alzhimers Dementia Int. 2018;1(1):1001.