Sex and Gender Differences in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Challenges for Therapeutic Opportunities.

ABSTRACT: The term "neurodegenerative diseases" (NDs) identifies a group of heterogeneous diseases characterized by progressive loss of selectively vulnerable populations of neurons, which progressively deteriorates over time, leading to neuronal dysfunction. Protein aggregation and neuronal loss have been considered the most characteristic hallmarks of NDs, but growing evidence confirms that significant dysregulation of innate immune pathways plays a crucial role as well. NDs vary from multiple sclerosis, in which the autoimmune inflammatory component is predominant, to more "classical" NDs, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and spinal muscular atrophy. Of interest, many of the clinical differences reported in NDs seem to be closely linked to sex, whic

SUBMITTER: Bianco A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10093984 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature