Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10(2), 407-440; doi:10.3390/ijms10020407
Review

Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism of Brain Diseases

Astrid Jeibmann* email and Werner Paulus
Institute of Neuropathology, Domagkstraße 19, 48149 Münster, University Hospital Münster, Germany
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 December 2008; in revised form: 16 January 2009 / Accepted: 20 January 2009 / Published: 2 February 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Neuropathology)
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Abstract: Drosophila melanogaster has been utilized to model human brain diseases. In most of these invertebrate transgenic models, some aspects of human disease are reproduced. Although investigation of rodent models has been of significant impact, invertebrate models offer a wide variety of experimental tools that can potentially address some of the outstanding questions underlying neurological disease. This review considers what has been gleaned from invertebrate models of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, metabolic diseases such as Leigh disease, Niemann-Pick disease and ceroid lipofuscinoses, tumor syndromes such as neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis, epilepsy as well as CNS injury. It is to be expected that genetic tools in Drosophila will reveal new pathways and interactions, which hopefully will result in molecular based therapy approaches.
Keywords: Fly; drosophila; brain disease

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jeibmann, A.; Paulus, W. Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism of Brain Diseases. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10, 407-440.

AMA Style

Jeibmann A, Paulus W. Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism of Brain Diseases. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2009; 10(2):407-440.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jeibmann, Astrid; Paulus, Werner. 2009. "Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism of Brain Diseases." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 10, no. 2: 407-440.

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