Jun 2026· Brain Science· Vol 16, pp. 675· 0 citations· 114 references
Medicine
TL;DR
This review integrates a multilayered biomarker framework for the early detection and risk management of neurodegenerative diseases and discusses new biomarkers and treatment targets that help future diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Abstract
Highlights What are the main findings? This review illustrates the individual key molecular mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases. It emphasizes the signaling of crosstalk and common axis for neuroprotective function. What are the implications of the main findings? This review integrates a multilayered biomarker framework for the early detection and risk management of neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the combinatorial therapeutic targets can boost diagnostic potential. Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington’s disease (HD), involve the gradual loss of structure or function of neurons in the nervous system and are an increasing threat to the aging population worldwide. Although these disorders have different clinical features which affect cognition, movement and other vital body functions, they share key underlying molecular and cellular processes. This starts with protein misfolding and aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, dysregulated protein homeostasis, neuroinflammation, and disrupted cell death pathways. Recent findings have added disease-specific processes, like amyloid-β and tau aggregates in AD, α-synuclein aggregation and mitophagy failure in PD’s, TDP-43-related impaired RNA metabolism in ALS, and mutant huntingtin causing transcription aberrations in HD. Protein interactome network analysis showed mechanistic crosstalk between pathogenic proteins of AD and PD. New evidence highlights how lysosomal dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and microglial activation, act as a common axis in neurodegeneration. Advancements in genomics and epigenomics have found shared genetic risk loci and regulatory processes that affect how diseases develop and progress. Simultaneously, new biomarkers like circulating microRNAs, exosome-related pathological proteins, neurofilament light chain, inflammatory cytokines, and microglial activation markers are powering early diagnosis tools and disease variations. New imaging techniques also allow for the identification of protein aggregations before symptoms appear. Overall, these findings are accelerating targeted treatments and personalized medicine aimed at disease progression. This review highlights current insights into the molecular mechanisms of NDs and discusses new biomarkers and treatment targets that help future diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of chronic and progressive disorders, which are characterized by selective neuronal destruction, synaptic malfunction and progressive cognitive and locomotor dysfunction. The major ones are Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which are a formidable and growing global health and socio-economic burden mainly due to demographic aging. Even despite the advances in the symptomatic treatment, predominantly through the cholinergic, dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic system, the current treatment regimens are not able to stop the underlying neurodegenerative events or reverse them. There is mounting evidence that convergent pathogenic mechanisms, such as protein misfolding and aggregation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired autophagy-lysosomal pathways, synaptic dysfunction, and chronic neuroinflammation, are convergent mechanisms. These convergent molecular and cellular cascades provide a strong rationale behind the identification of new neuropharmacological targets, which include: kinases, phosphatases, epigenetic regulators, neurotrophic signalling pathways and neuroimmune mediators. Advances in the biomarker discovery, genomics and systems biology have further enabled the use of precision based therapeutic stratification and early-intervention approaches. Genetic, nanotechnology, and RNA-based therapeutics as well as biologics are reconfiguring translational models in neurodegeneration. A mechanism-based, multi-target, precision neuropharmacological approach, as a group, has significant potential in achieving long-term neuroprotection, improved clinical and disease modification in neurodegenerative diseases.
Overall, this review makes a case for integrative, pathway-based therapeutic models, and multiple approaches may facilitate for drug development, biomarker identification and patient management in Alzheimer's disease.
A deeper understanding of aging-associated molecular dysfunction is essential to design sustainable, disease-modifying therapeutics with cross-disease relevance.
Nagaraj Rangappa, Riddhi Upadhyay, Nathish Lakshman et al.· Advances in Protein Chemistr...· 0 citations
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a major public health concern characterized by the progressive loss of neurons, ultimately leading to neuronal death and causing a sustained decline in brain function or physical motor abilities. Major examples include Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Currently, NDDs lack effective curative methods, and their pathological process primarily involves misfolded protein aggregation, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway, as a central hub for cytokine signaling, has recently been found to play a key role in neuroinflammation and immune regulation in NDDs. This review systematically elucidates the core mechanisms of the JAK/STAT pathway in NDDs, including the regulation of microglial and astrocytic reactivity, the impact on blood–brain barrier integrity, and involvement in energy metabolism abnormalities. On this basis, we have reviewed and evaluated various therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway, focusing on small-molecule JAK inhibitors such as baricitinib and tofacitinib, and have analyzed their mechanisms of action, preclinical efficacy, and potential side effects. In addition, this article provides a forward-looking perspective on the future research directions of the JAK/STAT pathway from the perspective of anti-neuroinflammation to promote neuroregeneration therapy, aiming to offer theoretical references and new ideas for the clinical translational research of this pathway.
Hai-Xia Yang, Bowei Su, Ya-Nan Bao et al.· Frontiers in Aging Neuroscie...· 0 citations
Neurodegenerative diseases are progressive disorders that involve the loss and dysfunction of neurons. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, Frontotemporal dementia are examples of diseases. While different clinically, these disorders have a common genetic, molecular and cellular basis. This review examines the common genetic pathways, along with the interactions between genes of major neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on the key genes, such as APOE, SNCA, MAPT, TARDBP, LRRK2 and HTT. The common pathogenic mechanisms considered to play a major role in disease progression include protein misfolding and aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, diminished autophagy, and impaired lysosomal function, as well as synaptic degeneration. The review also emphasizes the role of systems biology strategies, such as genome-wide association studies, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, interactome analysis, and multi-omics integration, to unveiling complex molecular networks in neurodegeneration. Furthermore, the emerging biomarker strategies and therapeutic strategies targeting convergence signaling pathways including NF-κB, PI3K-Akt-mTOR, MAPK and Wnt/β-catenin are summarized. The common genetic basis and the cross-connecting molecular mechanisms of the various neurodegenerative diseases could help in the discovery of new biomarkers and pan-therapeutic targets. Further advances in molecular genetics, computational biology and precision medicine are needed to enhance early detection and the creation of effective disease-modifying treatments.
P. Pattnaik, S. Prusty, Sanghamitra Pati et al.· Gene· 0 citations
Natural bioactive compounds, gene-based therapies, stem cell-based therapies, stem cell-based therapies, and nanotechnology-assisted drug delivery systems are promising alternatives as suggested by recent advances and could help to more effectively and permanently manage PD.
S. Arbab, Hanif Ullah, Yanting Han et al.· Ageing Research Reviews· 0 citations