CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - CNS & Neurological Disorders) - Volume 13, Issue 7, 2014

The International Summer School of Neurology provides a forum for a selected group of medical students and postgraduates specializing in neurology to interact with an internationally recognized faculty in the neurological sciences. Credit for having the vision to create the School goes to its founders and program coordinators, Dafin F. Mureşanu (Professor of Neurology and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Neurosci Read More

Neurodegenerative disorders encompass a spectrum of illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and even schizophrenia, autism and potential mood disorders [1]. In parallel with this, a number of metabolic disorders – largely brought together under the term, metabolic syndrome (a conglomerate of several conditions, such as glucose intoler Read More

Class B G-protein coupled receptors are involved in a wide variety of diseases and are a major focus in drug design. Migraines are a common problem, and one of their major causative agents is the class B G-protein coupled receptor, Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor, a target for competitive drug discovery. The calcitonin receptor-like receptor generates complexes with a receptor activity-modifying prot Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of brain that is associated with dementia, brain atrophy, accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and amyloid-beta peptide in hippocampus and cortex region of the brain. The development of AD is a multifactorial process that may also involve infection with bacterial pathogens. Recent studies suggest that bacteria including spirochetes have the potential to initiate c Read More

γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) are key players in the mediation of synaptic inhibition in the mammalian brain. Several proteins have a significant role in the complex trafficking mechanisms of GABAARs to and from the neuronal surface. Proper trafficking maintain number and localization of GABAAR at the neuronal surface which is necessary for inhibitory neuronal transmission. Among many other proteins, Read More

Dementia is the leading cause of disability worldwide among chronic diseases in the elderly and is a major contributor to mortality. Importantly, dementia that develops as a comorbid condition significantly compounds the burden of disease on the person, their caregivers and the health care system. Dementia is a frequent comorbidity of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and about 80% of people with PD will develop dementia during t Read More

Neurodegenerative diseases that afflict nervous system are characterized by progressive nervous system dysfunction and associated with the one-set of many diseases like Segawa’s syndrome (recessive form), autosomal recessive L-dopa-responsive dystonia, L-dopa non-responsive dystonia or progressive early-onset encephalopathy and recessive L-dopa-responsive parkinsonism. It has been reported that a number of mutati Read More

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by deposition of amyloid beta, neurofibrillary tangles, astrogliosis and microgliosis, leading to neuronal dysfunction and loss in the brain. Bio- and histochemical evidence suggests a pivotal role of central and peripheral inflammation in its aetiopathology, linked to the production of free radicals. Numerous epidemiological studies su Read More

The emerging data suggest that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can contribute significantly to the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) either directly or as a cofactor. Various in vitro and in vivo animal and human clinical studies have provided evidence that T2DM is a major risk factor in the pathology of AD and the two diseases share common biological mechanisms at the molecular level. The biological mechani Read More

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder primarily affecting memory and thinking ability; caused by progressive degeneration and death of nerve cells. In this study, we integrated multiple dataset retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information's Gene Expression Omnibus database, and took a systemsbiology approach to compare and distinguish the molecular netw Read More

Neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral diseases may be caused by chronic and neuropathic viral infections and may result in a loss of neurons and axons in the central nervous system that increases with age. To date, there is evidence of systemic viral infections that occur with some neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, autism Read More

Amyloid β (Aβ) polypeptide plays a key role in determining the state of protein aggregation in Alzheimer’s disease. The hydrophobic C-terminal part of the Aβ peptide is critical in triggering the transformation from α-helical to β- sheet structure. We hypothesized that phospholipase A2 (PLA2) may inhibit the aggregation of Aβ peptide by interacting with the peptide and keeping the two peptide chains apart. In order to examine the n Read More

During recent years, numerous lines of research including proteomics and molecular biology have highlighted multiple targets and signaling pathways involved in metabolic abnormalities and neurodegeneration. However, correlation studies of individual neurodegenerative disorders (ND) including Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in association with Diabetes type 2 Mellitus (D2M) are dem Read More

Alpha-Synuclein (αSyn) is a 14 kDa pre-synaptic protein predominantly expressed in various regions of brain comprising neocortex, hippocampus, striatum, thalamus and cerebellum. αSyn aggregates have special neuropathologic relevance for comprehending Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other synucleopathies due to the presence of αSyn aggregates in brain of patients suffering from these diseases. Direct relationship bet Read More

Neurodegenerative disorders are increasingly identified as one of the major causes of epilepsy. The relationship of epileptic activity to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of clinical importance. Voltage-gated sodium channel (VSC) is one of the best targets in the treatment of epilepsy while β-secretase (BACE) has long been observed as a curative target for AD. To explore a possible link between the treatment of AD and epilepsy, the mol Read More

GNE (UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/ N-acetylmannosamine kinase) is a bifunctional enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of UDP-GlcNAc to ManNAc and ManNAc to ManNAc 6-phosphate, key steps in the sialic acid biosynthesis. Mutations in GNE lead to a neuromuscular disorder, Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy (HIBM). A major limitation in understanding the function of GNE is lack of recombinant full Read More

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease diagnosed by well established clinical motor symptoms. However, the disease also encompasses many nonmotor issues that can impact a myriad of processes such as cardiovascular status, gastrointestinal function, autonomic function, mood and sleep. These issues can be more debilitating and impactful on health status in part because of a lack of effective tre Read More

In general, proteins can only execute their various biological functions when they are appropriately folded. Their amino acid sequence encodes the relevant information required for correct three-dimensional folding, with or without the assistance of chaperones. The challenge associated with understanding protein folding is currently one of the most important aspects of the biological sciences. Misfolded protein intermediates f Read More

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been the first molecule to be identified as neurotransmitter. The cholinergic and cholinoceptive areas, both in central and peripheral nervous system, have been well documented. Acetylcholine has been described to control, during embryogenesis, cell proliferation as well as neuron and glial cell survival and differentiation. In the adult, acetylcholine and its receptors are distributed in many tissues other Read More