Neuroimmunology of Degenerative Diseases and Stroke

Abstract

Degenerative diseases of the nervous system, the most common of which are Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), take a huge toll on the older population, as does atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease (ASCVD). Any potential preventive or therapeutic approach that might have a positive benefit/risk ratio should be pursued to alleviate this burden. There is evidence that these processes have inflammatory components and that down-regulation of key inflammatory components might ameliorate the degenerative process. This research is still in the developmental stage as of 2011 and there are no anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive medications now being used as a standard of care for any of these diseases, but this may change in the future. The immunology of these diseases is a large and complex area, so only a very brief outline is presented here. Other chronic neurological diseases which may have a immune/inflammatory contribution, such as narcolepsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will not be discussed, since the available neuroimmunological data is even more fragmentary in these diseases.