Neurodegenerative Diseases Overview

OT Dude Academy’s Free NBCOT® Exam Prep Course Neurology Neurodegenerative Diseases Overview

The word neurodegeneration corresponds to any pathological condition that primarily affects neurons.1  A common feature of neurodegenerative diseases is a progression in the degeneration of the structures in the central nervous system.2  Common neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS).3  Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and dementia are also included in this classification.4 

Risk Factors

Causes

  • Generally unknown
  • Combined genetic and environmental influences
    • Genetic influences: autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked, maternally inherited.
    • Toxic environmental factors – geographic, social, professional6 

Pathology

  • Cerebral cortex: dementing (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) versus non-dementing conditions.
  • Diseases that involve the basal ganglia (caudate nucleus putamen, global pallidus, substantial nigra, subthalamic nucleus, red nucleus) are characterized by abnormal movements (hypokinetic or hyperkinetic).
  • Spinal cord: ALS6 

Neurodegenerative Management

Drugs have been shown to alleviate symptoms of several neurodegenerative diseases, but they are often associated with debilitating side-effects and do not appear to stop the progression of the diseases.1 

Terminology

  • Akinesia – lack of movement
  • Bradykinesia – slowed movement
  • Dysmetria – impaired measuring of distance for motor movement
  • Rigidity – stiff and inflexible muscles
  • Paresthesia – burning or prickling sensation
  • Basal ganglia – responsible for motor control, motor learning, executive functions and behaviors, and emotions.
  • Caudate nucleus – controls motor processes
  • Cerebrum – the majority of the brain consisting of two hemispheres
  • Forebrain – controls body temperature, reproductive functions, eating, sleeping, and emotions
  • Hippocampus – part of the limbic system that plays a role in short-term memory consolidation to long-term memory; spatial memory for navigation
  • Putamen – regulates movements (preparation and execution)
  • Substantia nigra – neurons in the substantial nigra produce dopamine and are responsible for relaying messages that plan and control body movement. 7 
  1. Przedborski, S., Vila, M., & Jackson-Lewis, V. (2003). Neurodegeneration: what is it and where are we?. The Journal of clinical investigation, 111(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI17522[↩][↩]
  2. Cutler, N.R.; Sramek, J.J. Review of the next generation of Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics: Challenges for drug development. Prog. Neuro Psychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 2001, 25, 27–57.[↩]
  3. Tong, L.M.; Fong, H.; Huang, Y. Stem cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders: Current status and future perspectives. Exp. Mol. Med. 2015, 47, e151.[↩]
  4. Forwell, S. J., Copperman, L. F., & Hugos, L. (2008). Neurodegenerative diseases. In M. V. Radomski & C. A. Trombly Latham (Eds.), Occupational therapy for physical dysfunction (6th ed., pp. 1079–1105). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.[↩]
  5. Tanner CM. Epidemiology of Parkinson’s disease. Neurol. Clin. 1992;10:317–329.[↩]
  6. Przedborski, Serge et al. “Neurodegeneration: what is it and where are we?.” The Journal of clinical investigation vol. 111,1 (2003): 3-10. doi:10.1172/JCI17522[↩][↩]
  7. Fluid Analytics. (2019). Glossary of neurodegenerative terms. Retrieved from http://www.fluidic.com/resources/glossary-of-neurodegenerative-terms/[↩]
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