User:Quirkybooknerd/Neurodegeneration

This is my sandbox draft for my project.

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress, and the appropriate citations will be added over time. There is still a lot of work to be done.

Alzheimer's

Even though there have been billions of dollars circulated into finding a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, there have been no effective treatments found <8>. While effective treatments haven't been found, clinical trials have developed certain compounds that could potentially change the future of Alzheimer's disease treatments. Currently, diagnoses of Alzheimer's is subpar, and better methods need to be utilized for various aspects of clinical diagnoses. Alzheimer's has a high misdiagnosis rate (20%), and that needs to be addressed.

Parkinson's

While PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, problems with diagnoses still persist, which prove controversial for neurologists who don't agree with some assessment methods. Problems with the sense of smell is a widespread symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is a good assessment method for PD. However, some neurologists don't agree, and this assessment method could lead to confusion among medical professionals. The gut microbiome might play a role in the diagnosis of PD, and research suggests various ways that could revolutionize the future of PD treatment.

Huntington's

Huntington's disease presents itself later in life even though the proteins that cause the disease works towards manifestation from their early stages in the humans affected by the proteins. Huntington's disease currently has no effective treatments that would modify the disease. Along with being a neurodegenerative disorder, HD has links to problems with neurodevelopment.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that negatively impacts the upper motor neurons (UMNs) and lower motor neurons (LMNs). It is diagnosed by skeletal muscle weakness that progresses gradually. Early diagnosis of ALS is harder than with other neurodegenerative diseases as there are no highly effective means of determining its early onset. Currently, there is research being done regarding the diagnosis of ALS through the use of tests on the upper motor neurons. The Penn Upper Motor Neuron Score (PUMNS) consists of 28 criteria with a score range of 0-32 <9>. A higher score indicates a higher level of burden present on the upper motor neurons. The PUMNS has proven quite effective in determining the burden that exists on upper motor neurons in affected patients.

Batten Disease

Batten disease is characterized by symptoms, such as motor impairment, epilepsy, dementia, vision loss, and shortened lifespan. Batten disease, also known as Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL), consists of multiple neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders caused by CLN gene mutations. Batten disease is made up of four different ideations that are contingent upon age.

Bibliography

1 ACCURACY OF CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE CENTERS (ADCS)

2 Huntington’s disease alters human neurodevelopment

3 Caspase 1 activity influences juvenile Batten disease (CLN3) pathogenesis

4 ‘Clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease’: immunotherapy approaches

5 Batten disease

6 Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease medications have distinct signatures of the gut microbiome

7 Huntington's disease: underlying molecular mechanisms and emerging concepts

8 The Alzheimer conundrum: entanglements of dementia and aging

9 Reliable and efficient scale to assess upper motor neuron disease burden in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

10 Dissociated leg muscle atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease: the ‘split-leg’ sign

11 Invalid Self-Assessment of Olfactory Functioning in Parkinson’s Disease Patients May Mislead the Neurologist