CNS Ageing in Health and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Abstract

The process of ageing is characteristic of multicellular organisms associated with late stages of the lifecycle and is manifested through a plethora of phenotypes. Its underlying mechanisms are correlated with age-dependent diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) that are accompanied by social and financial difficulties for patients. Over time, people not only become more prone to neurodegeneration but they also lose the ability to trigger pivotal restorative mechanisms. In this review, we attempt to present the already known molecular and cellular hallmarks that characterize ageing in association with their impact on the central nervous system (CNS)'s structure and function intensifying possible preexisting pathogenetic conditions. A thorough and elucidative study of the underlying mechanisms of ageing will be able to contribute further to the development of new therapeutic interventions to effectively treat age-dependent manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: CNS; DMTs; ageing; immunosenescence; inflammageing; plasticity.

Figure 1

The hallmarks of ageing and the crosstalk between CNS and neurodegeneration. As time passes under the influence of molecular and cellular senescent mechanisms, brain cells are prone to inflammation and degeneration. Abbreviations: AD: Alzheimer’s disease, MS: multiple sclerosis, PD: Parkinson’s disease, SIRT: sirtuins, WMLs: white matter lesions.