Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders

Dear colleagues,

Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common movement disorders, is characterized by age-dependent dysfunction and degeneration of the midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of PD has progressed with neurotoxin-induced and α-synunclein propagation models. Moreover, recent advances in human molecular genetics have led to the identification of familial and PD risk genes. Analyses of model animals in which mutations of these PD genes are introduced promise to shed light on the pathogenic mechanisms underlying both idiopathic and familial PD.

We invite authors to submit manuscripts focused on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, therapeutic challenges using model animals, the development of new screening methods, and the generation of new PD and related models to this Special Issue. Both high-quality research articles and reviews of the most recent progress in the area are welcome. Moreover, papers dealing with new methods to detect the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons as well as other cells are of great interest. The key topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• PD studies using vertebrate models;
• PD studies using non-vertebrate models;
• PD studies using other organisms;
• Drug screening using PD model organisms;
• Development of therapeutic strategies using PD model organisms;
• Development of experimental techniques.

Prof. Yuzuru Imai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.