ABSTRACT
Acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) are among the major challenges faced by neuroscientifi c research, by the pharmaceutical industry and by healthcare systems in most, if not all, industrialized countries. This situation is a consequence of our present inadequate understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, and it has resulted in a lack of diagnostic resources and therapeutic options as well as in the need for long-term and costly nursing of patients. Many CNS diseases are correlated with age, and thus-following present-day world-wide demographic trends-they are becoming even more important. Consequently, better strategies to prevent, diagnose and/ or treat diseases such as stroke and cerebral ischemia, Parkinson’s disease,
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), AG Neurodegeneration and Intervention Strategies, c/o Universitätsklinikum, Leipziger Str. 44, D-39120 Magdeburg, Germany. Email: frank.striggow@dzne.de
multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are urgently needed.
