New Mechanisms and Therapeutics in Neurological Diseases—4th Edition
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 2088
Special Issue Editor
Interests: neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation; neurodegenerative diseases; neurodevelopmental disorders; tumor markers; specific proteins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The term “neurodegenerative diseases” (NDs) collectively defines a group of pathological conditions of the nervous system, characterized by the degeneration of neurons. This group of disorders includes different diseases leading to dementia or motor neuron disfunction, resulting in disability. Among them, Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s diseases (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS) have the greatest importance because of their devastating outcomes and enormous socio-economic impact. Although they have a variegated etiology, an increasing role in their pathology is ascribed to neuroinflammatory processes. Neuroinflammation may affect not only neurons but also non-neuronal astrocytes and microglia cells, as well as immune cells entering the nervous system. These cells cooperate in both the damage and repair of diseased brain tissue. Interactions between cells and the extracellular environment have emerged as new targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. However, the heterogeneity of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these diseases hinders efforts at slowing down the progression of these diseases and developing effective treatments against them. Moreover, the availability of biomarkers with appropriate sensitivity and specificity that could predict treatment success is very limited.
Inflammatory and infectious diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) may also be involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. Microbial infection has emerged as a new risk factor for NDs, and new evidence supports the universal hypothesis that some bacteria, viruses, and even fungi could be involved not only in brain inflammation but also in neurodegeneration and dementia. The diagnosis of CNS infections and the identification of potential pathogenic pathways of these diseases are also topics of interest for this Special Issue, as are the therapy and prevention of these diseases, including vaccination.
Submissions reporting studies on malignant primary brain tumors are also welcome. These tumors are a highly heterogeneous group of malignancies, with varied frequencies within different age groups. Among them, glioblastoma is the most common and most malignant primary CNS tumor, affecting patients of all ages, from children to adults. Glioblastoma multiforme is an especially fatal tumor type, and only moderate progress has been achieved in its clinical management in recent years.
The goal of this Special Issue is to collect original research manuscripts, short communications, and reviews on the latest advances regarding new mechanisms of and therapeutics for neurological diseases, including neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and tumors of the central nervous system.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Biological mechanisms related to neurodegeneration, inflammation, and tumorigenesis within the central nervous system;
- Neurodegenerative diseases as proteinopathies;
- The relationship between neurodegeneration and inflammation;
- New potential biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, including mild cognitive impairment, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, and prion diseases;
- The prognostic value of biomarkers of neurodegeneration in the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to fully symptomatic dementia;
- Cytokines, chemokines, and matrix metalloproteinases as prognostic factors in the carcinogenesis of malignant CNS tumors;
- Mediators of inflammation, chemokines, and their receptors as novel tumor markers in malignant tumors of the central nervous system in relation to the histological type of tumor;
- Relationships between COVID-19 and neurological diseases.
This Special Issue is supervised by Prof. Dr. Barbara Mroczko with the assistance of our Topical Advisory Panel Member Dr. Kristina Mlinac-Jerković (University of Zagreb).
Prof. Dr. Barbara Mroczko
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- neurodegeneration
- neuroinflammation
- neurodegenerative diseases
- neurodevelopmental disorders
- tumor markers
- specific proteins
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