Neurodegenerative disease

Question 1

2 major neurological diseases

Answer 1

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Question 2

Healthy aging

Answer 2

Little or no neuronal loss but synaptic function changes

Question 3

Dementia

Answer 3

Progressive loss of cognitive and intellectual function without impairment of perception and consciousness. Mainly caused by structural brain disease

Question 4

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 4

Dementia caused by progressive neurodegeneration

Question 5

AD pathology at cellular level

Answer 5

Neuronal loss, synaptic damage, amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

Question 6

What is the amyloid state

Answer 6

Form elongated fibers with spines consisting of many stranded beta sheets

Question 7

What is tau

Answer 7

Intrinsically disordered protein that can be alternatively spliced at N terminal exons and microtubule repeat domains. Binds and stabilises microtubules

Question 8

Therapies for AD

Answer 8

Beta/ gamma secretase inhibitors, amyloid lowering antibodies, reduce tau hyperphos.

Question 9

Parkinson’s disease symptoms

Answer 9

Motor symptoms - tremour (4-6Hz). Rigidity and akinesia

Question 10

What is a Lewy Body

Answer 10

Aggregation of the alpha-synuclein protein

Question 11

Alpha-synuclein in PD

Answer 11

Increase in gene dosage or mutation

Question 12

Prion

Answer 12

Alternatively folded, self-propagating protein confomers