Neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases of the CNS include Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, MS and ALS. These devastating illnesses are characterized by the progressive loss of selected neurons in discrete brain areas, resulting in characteristic disorders of movement, cognition, or both. For example, Alzheimer disease is characterized by the loss of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Maynert, whereas Parkinson disease is associated with a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The number of cases is expected to increase as the proportion of elderly people in the population increases.