Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine

Neurodegenerative Disease

Neurodegenerative disease is caused by a continuous loss of structure or function of neurons, a process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophy, and prion disease. Neurodegeneration can be found in the brain in many different levels of neuronal circuitry, from molecular to systemic. Because there is no known way to reverse the ongoing neurological decline, these diseases are considered incurable; however studies have shown that two major factors contribute to the formation of neurodegeneration by oxidative stress and inflammation. Biomedical studies have revealed many similarities between these diseases at the subcellular level, including atypical protein assemblies (such as proteinopathy) and cell death caused by death.