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 <citation needed 4>. Currently, diagnoses of Alzheimer's is subpar, and better methods need to be utilized for various aspects of clinical diagnoses <citation needed 1>. Alzheimer's has a high misdiagnosis rate (20%), and that needs to be addressed <citation needed 1>.

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 <citation needed 11>. Problems with the sense of smell is a widespread symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is a good assessment method for PD <citation needed 11>. 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 <citation needed 6>.

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 <citation needed 2>. Huntington's disease currently has no effective treatments that would modify the disease <citation needed 7>. Along with being a neurodegenerative disorder, HD has links to problems with neurodevelopment <citation needed 2>.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that negatively impacts the upper motor neurons (UMNs) and lower motor neurons (LMNs) <citation needed 10>. It is diagnosed by skeletal muscle weakness that progresses gradually <citation needed 10>. Early diagnosis of ALS is harder than with other neurodegenerative diseases as there are no highly effective means of determining its early onset <citation needed 10>. Currently, there is research being done regarding the diagnosis of ALS through the use of tests on the upper motor neurons <citation needed 9>. 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 <citation needed 9>. The PUMNS has proven quite effective in determining the burden that exists on upper motor neurons in affected patients <citation needed 9>.

Batten Disease

Batten disease is characterized by symptoms, such as motor impairment, epilepsy, dementia, vision loss, and shortened lifespan <citation needed 5>. Batten disease, also known as Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL), consists of multiple neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders caused by CLN gene mutations <citation needed 3>. Batten disease is made up of four different ideations that are contingent upon age <citation needed 3>.

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