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Review
. 2016 Mar 17:5:F1000 Faculty Rev-366.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.7431.1. eCollection 2016.

Metals and Neurodegeneration

Pan Chen  1 , Mahfuzur Rahman Miah  1 , Michael Aschner  1
Affiliations
Review

Metals and Neurodegeneration

Pan Chen et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

Metals play important roles in the human body, maintaining cell structure and regulating gene expression, neurotransmission, and antioxidant response, to name a few. However, excessive metal accumulation in the nervous system may be toxic, inducing oxidative stress, disrupting mitochondrial function, and impairing the activity of numerous enzymes. Damage caused by metal accumulation may result in permanent injuries, including severe neurological disorders. Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown a strong correlation between aberrant metal exposure and a number of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism spectrum disorders, Guillain-Barré disease, Gulf War syndrome, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Wilson's disease. Here, we briefly survey the literature relating to the role of metals in neurodegeneration.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Huntington’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; metal accumulation; neurodegeneration; neurological disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

No competing interests were disclosed.

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