Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegenerative Dementias

Dear Colleagues,

The study of molecular and cellular changes occurring in cognitive pathologies is of primary interest to identify possible disease biomarkers, develop disease-modifying treatments, and plan effective intervention strategies. Genetics, epigenetic modifications, and environmental factors act together in the genesis of complex neurological disorders as frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammatory events occur in the disease course exerting different beneficial/regenerative or detrimental effects. The deposition of abnormal toxic protein aggregates in the brain may trigger long-lasting pathological processes.

The same neuropathology can trigger different clinical phenotypes or, vice-versa, that similar clinical phenotypes can be triggered by different underlying neuropathologies. This evidence called for the adoption of a pathology spectrum-based approach. Conditions belonging to the same or different spectrum of diseases share brain deposition of abnormal protein aggregates, which lead to aberrant biochemical, metabolic, functional, and structural changes. Some of these pathological determinants are known, others are yet to be clarified. In this context, the recently identified limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE) syndrome is certainly of extreme interest.

In this Special Issue of Cells, I invite you to contribute with original research articles, reviews, or shorter perspective articles on aspects related to the theme of “Molecular and Cellular Mechanism of Neurodegenerative Dementias”. Expert articles describing biochemical, genetic, metabolic, functional, and structural changes, with a particular interest in preclinical and clinical molecular imaging, are highly welcome.

We are looking forward to your contributions to this Special Issue.

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• Alzheimer’s disease
• frontotemporal dementia
• synucleinopathy
• tauopathy
• TDP-43 proteinopathy
• amyloidosis
• experimental cytology
• epigenetics
• neuroinflammation
• neurodegeneration
• disease biomarkers