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To date, a model for Parkinson’s disease (PD) that accurately replicates key features of pathophysiology represents a major bottleneck in the understanding of disease mechanisms, as well as in efficient drug screening. Both cell culture systems and animal models of PD have fundamental limitations in that none of these models faithfully recapitulates all of the […]

Affecting over 70 million patients worldwide, epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by intermittent bursts of hyper-synchronous neuronal discharges.1 The manifestations are variable but reflective of the unique milieu and biology of epileptogenic foci.2 Pharmacological treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is supportive only and, for up to 30% of patients, is inadequate in preventing seizures.3 While surgical […]

For several decades, levodopa-based treatments have been the mainstay of Parkinson’s disease (PD) therapy. However, current treatments do not prevent disease progression and there is no cure. In an attempt to find disease-modifying treatments, research into biotechnological treatment approaches such as gene and (stem) cellbased therapy, is gaining momentum in the field of PD. Gene […]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated neurodegenerative disorder characterised by central nervous system (CNS) demyelination, axonal injury, gliosis and eventual loss of both oligodendrocytes and neurons.1 The aetiology of the disease is complex, and not entirely understood, though human and animal studies of immune-mediated demyelinating disease has elucidated some components of MS pathophysiology.2,3 Genetic […]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves inflammation, demyelination and neurodegeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) and is characterized by variable degrees of axonal loss and gliosis.1 Lesions occur in both the white and grey matter. Generally, the overall incidence of MS and other chronic autoimmune disorders has increased in the last 100 years.2 The incidence and […]

Glioblastoma Multiforme Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant of the primary brain cancers with only about 12 % of patients surviving beyond 36 months (longterm survivors).1–4 Most GBMs are heterogeneous in cellular composition consisting of tumor stem cells, malignantly transformed mesenchymal cells, and host stromal cells; hence, the name ‘glioblastoma multiforme.’5–11 Primary GBM appears […]

Numerous clinical trials are under way to evaluate therapeutic approaches to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite the significant efforts toward, for example, clearance of amyloid plaques by vaccination therapies, these approaches may still fall short of cognitive recovery in the AD population as they do not directly focus on the regeneration of […]

Understanding MS Better in 2014Contribution of Epidemiological factorsMultiple sclerosis (MS) is considered to be an immune-mediated neuro-inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with heterogeneous clinical presentation and course, neuroimaging and pathological findings. Several genetic and environmental factors have been shown to show some association with MS; gene–environment interactions are hypothesised to […]

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder caused by autoantibodies against the myoneural junction, which lead to impaired neuromuscular transmission. These antibodies act at the post-synaptic membrane, commonly against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) but in some cases, antibodies to muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) or lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) can be seen. In an […]