New Therapies and Strategies in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

“Neurodegenerative diseases”, defined as a group of pathological conditions manifested by different symptoms but all characterized by the progressive degeneration and death of neurons and eventually general organism disability, affect millions of people worldwide. As most, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are strongly related to aging and as, according to the World Health Organization, by 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion), and the number of people aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 (426 million), the number of people with neurodegenerative diseases will continue to rise. Regardless of the rising number of people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases and the immense social burden it is imposing on society, current treatments help relieve many of the symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases, but they do not slow  disease progression, nor do they offer a cure.

At present, extensive research is ongoing in an attempt to find the missing effective cure and therapy, ranging from biologically active substances or a combination of those (based on citicoline, α-lipoic acid, Ginkgo biloba extracts, curcumin, and others) and chemically synthesized compounds (e.g., galantamine derivatives for Alzheimer’s disease and adenosine A_2A receptor antagonists and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) blockers for Parkinson’s disease) to the use of antibodies against α-synuclein or its aggregated forms (Prasinezumab and Cinpanemab for Parkinson’s disease) and gamma frequency brainwave stimulation (for cognitive defects and Alzheimer’s disease).

With this Special Issue, we aim to provide a platform for reporting research that would lead to the discovery of new and promising tools for the efficient treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Polina Petkova-Kirova
Guest Editor

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