A path toward understanding neurodegeneration

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 353; no. 6302; pp. 872 - 873
• Main Authors: Kosik, K. S., Sejnowski, T. J., Raichle, M. E., Ciechanover, A., Baltimore, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 26.08.2016; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Cancer; Cascades; Cell Biology - trends; Cell death; Cellular biology; Cytotoxicity; Disease Progression; Genetics; Humans; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative Diseases - pathology; Neurodegenerative Diseases - prevention & control; Neurodegenerative Diseases - therapy; Neurological diseases; Oncology; PERSPECTIVES; Platforms; Underdeveloped countries
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aai7622

The specter of neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer's disease, haunts the developed world and exacts a poorly documented toll on underdeveloped countries. With so little progress made toward finding a cure-or, better, a prevention-it is time to rethink the path to progress. This requires a change in perspective on the type of research that will make a difference. The lesson learned from cancer research is that a new commitment means rethinking the fundamental approach to the disease. Cancer research moved from taking potshots with, usually, cytotoxic drugs to a bottom-up, mechanism-based approach in which newly acquired genetic knowledge played the largest role. Today, that effort has produced a platform of knowledge from which academia and industry are drawing. For neurodegenerative disease, the genetic approach remains valid but the problem must concurrently be approached from a complementary, robust cell biological perspective, focusing on the cellular cascade of events that lead to neuronal cell death.