Targeting apoptosis in neurodegenerative disease
An accurate work of review by (Targeting programmed cell death in neurodegenerative disease, Nature Review
Neuroscience, Vol. 4, No 5,
May 2003) will be published in the
May issue of Nature Review Neuroscience.
Molecular pathways of apoptosis are
activated in various neurodegenerative disorders including Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (so called Lou Gehrig disease), Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s and
Huntington's. In these diseases, apoptosis (or programmed cell death, PCD)
might be pathogenic, and targeting it might mitigate degeneration. To identify
potential neuroprotective targets within the PCD process complex, the
expression and activity of some of its components have been altered by genetic
or pharmacological means in experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases.
The results of these studies have provided leads for the development of
neuro-protective strategies for these progressive, disabling and often fatal disorders.
BM&L-April 2003