Current Neuropharmacology - Volume 16, Issue 7, 2018

Background: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a multifactorial pathology involving a variety of pathogenic mechanisms, including oxidative/nitrosative stress. This latter is the consequence of the imbalance between excessive formation and insufficient protection against reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Objective: Our main goal is to gather molecular information to better managing pathologic variants th Read More

Background: Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the nervous retinal elements which connect the visual receptors to the brain forming the nervous visual system. Functional and/or morphological involvement of RGCs occurs in several ocular and neurological disorders and therefore these cells are targeted in neuroprotective strategies. Cytidine 5-diphosphocholine or Citicoline is an endogenous compound that acts in the biosynt Read More

Background: Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve axons. According to its anatomical features, glaucoma is mainly subdivided into primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) and glaucoma (XFG) are characterized by the accumulation of extracellular materials in o Read More

Background: At present intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering therapies are the only approach to treat glaucoma. Neuroprotective strategies to protect the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) from apoptosis are lacking to date. Substantial amount of research concerning the role of the immune system in glaucoma has been performed in the recent years. This review aims to analyse changes found in the peripheral immune syste Read More

Background: Emerging neuroprotective strategies are being explored to preserve the retina from degeneration, that occurs in eye pathologies like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and retinitis pigmentosa. Incidentally, neuroprotection of retina is a defending mechanism designed to prevent or delay neuronal cell death, and to maintain neural function following an initial insult, thus avoiding los Read More

Background: Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) is the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. Elevated intraocular pressure is considered an important risk factor for glaucoma; however, a subset of patients experiences a progression of the disease even in presence of normal intraocular pressure values. This implies that risk factors other than intraocular pressure are involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. A possible r Read More

Background: Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy characterized by retinal ganglion cell death and alterations of visual field. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered the main risk factor of glaucoma, even though other factors cannot be ruled out, such as epigenetic mechanisms. Objective: An overview of the ultimate promising experimental drugs to manage glaucoma has been provided. Results: In Read More

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major complication of diabetes, characterized by extensive vascular pathology leading to vision loss. Neuronal suffering and death are also present in the diabetic retina as a result of different molecular mechanisms that are compromised or modified in response to high glucose. The aim of this paper is to highlight recent data indicating that neurodegeneration is likely to play Read More

Background: Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, is a chronic optic neuropathy characterized by progressive retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons degeneration and death. Primary open-angle glaucoma (OAG), the most common type, is often associated with increased intraocular pressure (IOP), however other factors have been recognized to partecipate to the patogenesis of the optic neuropathy. IOP-i Read More

Background: Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration is a major feature of glaucoma pathology. Neuroprotective approaches that delay or halt the progression of RGC loss are needed to prevent vision loss which can occur even after conventional medical or surgical treatments to lower intraocular pressure. Objective: The aim of this review was to examine the progress in genetics and cellular mechanisms associated wit Read More

Background: As the human lifespan increases, the number of people affected by agerelated dementia is growing at an epidemic pace. Vascular pathology dramatically affects cognitive profiles, resulting in dementia and cognitive impairment. While vascular dementia itself constitutes a medical challenge, hypo-perfusion/vascular risk factors enhance amyloid toxicity and other memory- damaging factors and hasten Alzh Read More

Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children, currently treated uniformly based on histopathology and clinico-radiological risk stratification leading to unpredictable relapses and therapeutic failures. Identification of molecular subgroups have thrown light on the reasons for these and now reveals clues to profile molecularly based personalized therapy against these tumors. Methods: R Read More

Background: Adequate dietary intake and nutritional status have important effects on brain functions and on brain health. Energy intake and specific nutrients excess or deficiency from diet differently affect cognitive processes, emotions, behaviour, neuroendocrine functions and synaptic plasticity with possible protective or detrimental effects on neuronal physiology. Lipids, in particular, play structural and functional roles i Read More

Background: There is a growing body of evidence in animal and cell based models of Parkinson's disease (PD) to suggest that overexpression and / or abnormal accumulation and aggregation of α-synuclein can trigger neuronal death. This important role of α-synuclein in PD pathogenesis is supported by the fact that duplication, triplication and mutations of α-synuclein gene cause familial forms of PD. Methods: A review of lit Read More