Dear Colleagues,

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease affect millions of people worldwide with an increasing prevalence in our aging society. The social burden of chronic non-communicable diseases is enormous, and it is therefore a global prerogative to develop effective interventions against the increasing number of age-related disorders. Although various therapeutic approaches can help to manage disease symptoms, there is still a lack of disease modifiers that halt or delay disease progression. In this regard, innovative experimental research on age-related neurodegenerative processes represents a priority, which requires “out-of-the-box” approaches to unravel the underlying pathogenic mechanisms and to identify novel treatment strategies.

Virtually all neurodegenerative diseases involve (mis)operating cellular processes, including protein misfolding, cellular stress, protein and organelle degradation, mitochondrial biology, immune response, and lysosomal function. In this context, mounting evidence suggests that oxidative stress and inflammation in particular, can initiate a feedforward loop that drives aberrant disease-causing biochemical, metabolic, functional, and structural changes. Uncovering the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that trigger pathogenic processes related to neurodegeneration is therefore of great importance for understanding disease dynamics.

In this Special Issue, we aim to focus on the latest research on intra- and intercellular mechanisms contributing to neurodegeneration. We aim to highlight novel research findings and collect therapeutic advances that may ameliorate disease progression. Research papers, review articles, or shorter perspective articles on related aspects of cellular and molecular mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., failure of protein clearance, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell–cell communication to name just a few) are highly welcome.

The Special Issue is now open for submission. Female scientists are particularly encouraged to submit their research. We are looking forward to your contributions.

Dr. Hannah Scheiblich
Dr. Lena Wischhof
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• neuroinflammation
• oxidative stress
• mitochondria
• glia
• neurons
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• frontotemporal dementia