Internal medicine

Neuroscience

Receptor

Disease

Epistemology

Philosophy

Psychology

Neurotrophic factors

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Neurodegeneration

Parkinson's disease

Huntington's disease

Mechanism (biology)

Synaptic plasticity

Neuroplasticity

Medicine

Neurotrophin

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Neurotrophins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), are essential for neuronal survival and growth. The signaling cascades initiated by BDNF and its receptor are the key regulators of synaptic plasticity, which plays important role in learning and memory formation. Changes in BDNF levels and signaling pathways have been identified in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease, and have been linked with the symptoms and course of these diseases. This review summarizes the current understanding of the role of BDNF in several neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the underlying molecular mechanism. The therapeutic potential of BDNF treatment is also discussed, in the hope of discovering new avenues for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Recent Advances on the Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in Neurodegenerative Diseases