Iron Metabolism and Oxidative Stress in Brain Ageing and Neurodegenerative Diseases
A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Outcomes of Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 December 2026 | Viewed by 208
Special Issue Editor
Interests: role of iron in brain ageing and neurodegeneration; peripheral metabolic dysfunction and brain–body interactions; ferroptosis; advanced imaging and spectroscopic approaches
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Iron is essential for normal brain function, yet its dysregulation is increasingly recognised as a fundamental contributor to oxidative stress, brain ageing, and neurodegenerative disease. Alterations in iron metabolism can disrupt redox homeostasis through excessive reactive oxygen species generation, lipid peroxidation, and iron-dependent cell death pathways such as ferroptosis. These processes increase neuronal vulnerability during ageing and are implicated in disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related neurodegenerative conditions.
Accumulating evidence indicates that changes in brain iron handling across the lifespan play a central role in driving oxidative damage and progressive neuronal dysfunction. Perturbations in iron storage, transport, and distribution can amplify redox imbalance, overwhelm endogenous antioxidant defence mechanisms, and accelerate neurodegenerative processes. Understanding how iron-mediated redox pathways evolve with ageing and contribute to disease onset and progression remains a major challenge in the field.
This Special Issue provides a focused platform for original research articles and reviews that advance understanding of iron metabolism and redox regulation in neurodegenerative disease. Topics of interest include mechanisms of brain iron homeostasis, iron-driven oxidative stress, ferroptosis, antioxidant defence pathways, metal–redox interactions, and the contribution of iron dysregulation to brain ageing. Studies employing advanced imaging or spectroscopic approaches to investigate brain iron distribution and redox changes are also within scope. By integrating mechanistic and translational perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to clarify the role of iron-dependent oxidative stress in neurodegeneration and to highlight potential therapeutic strategies.
Dr. Po-Wah So
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- iron metabolism
- redox balance
- oxidative stress
- neurodegenerative diseases
- brain ageing
- ferroptosis
- metal homeostasis
- antioxidant systems
- brain iron imaging
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