Therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases Flashcards
Huntington’s chorea
Loss of neurons in caudate and putamen causing involuntary, jerky movements
Which types of neurons in particular are lost during huntington’s disease
/medium spiny neurons
What is the genetic basis behind huntington proteins?
trinucleotide repeat disorders
What is the pathological basis of parkinson’s disease?
Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra which supply the striatum (caudate/putamen)
What protein aggregates are found in neurons during parkinson’s disease?
lewy bodies (alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin)
What are the two proposed mechanisms of neuronal death during parkinson’s disease?
- toxicity of accumulated proteins
2. defective protein degradation/abnormal protein accumulation
which cells are lost in alzheimer’s?
NGF-sensitive cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain
fxn of map2 and tau proteins?
spacers that keep microtubules aligned
What is the key protein causing pathogenesis of alzheimers?
Ab40/42 is a major component of amyloid plaques
What combination of secretases produce the AB40/42 peptide fragment?
beta and gamma secretases
What are the components of gamma secretase?
Aph-1, presenillin, nicastrin, pen-2
What are four therapeutic approaches to alzheimer’s disease that have been taken?
- acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
- statins
- gamma secretase inhibitors
- aggregation inhibitors
Which cells respond to BDNF?
medium spiny neurons from the striatum will grow after exposure to BDNF
What are the main effects of neurotrophins?
- increased neuronal survival
- increased neuronal growth
- influence neuronal differentiation
- myelination
- synapse formation and function
What kind of receptor is responsible for binding neurotrophin/
tyrosine kinase receptors.
They form active dimers
