Neurodegenerative Diseases: Their Onset, Epidemiology, Causes and Treatment

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the progressive loss of neuronal functions. The causes, epidemiology, and treatments for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, spinal muscular atrophy, spinocerebellar ataxia, and prion disease are summarized in the current review.

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of diseases with several neuropathological symptoms. Degenerative nerve diseases can be serious or life-threatening. Because of the rise in the older population in recent years, these age-dependent diseases are becoming more and more common. The WHO reports that within a few years, neurodegenerative diseases will overtake cancer to become the second leading cause of fatalities with cardiovascular diseases being the first. All neurodegenerative diseases have a common ground in that they are all associated with some sort of gene mutation leading to subsequent protein dysfunction. This review focuses on 6 neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, spinal muscular atrophy, spinocerebellar ataxia, and prions disease. The study aims to provide a basic understanding of the onset, epidemiology, causes, and role of associated proteins of the neurodegenerative diseases and will also go over any treatments which are currently being employed for the specific diseases. This presented data will allow to establish a slight comparison between the mentioned diseases and highlight any similarities and dissimilarities they may possess, thus providing the scientific community with basic knowledge on these diseases to help future research.

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