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    Neuro-Inflammation as a Target in the Design of Multifunctional Drug Candidates for Neurodegenerative Diseases

    Submission Deadline: November 30, 2023

    Guest Editors

    Prof. Claudio Viegas Jr. E-Mail

    Full Professor, PeQuiM- Laboratory of Research in Medicinal Chemistry, Federal University of Alfenas, Brazil

    Research Keywords: drug design; neurodegenerative diseases; multi-target directed ligands; multifunctional drug candidates; hybrid molecules


    Prof. Arthur Eugen Kümmerle E-Mail

    Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Research Keywords: pharmacy; drug discovery; organic chemistry; synthetic medicinal chemistry; medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry; organic synthesis


    Prof. Vanessa Silva Gontijo E-Mail

    Federal University of Alfenas, Brazil

    Research Keywords: antioxidant activity; oxidative stress biomarkers; free radicals; reactive oxygen species; phytochemicals; natural product chemistry


    About the Special Issue

    Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a group of chronic, progressive, disabling, and incurable diseases, which represent one of the biggest challenges for the current research in the fields of medicinal chemistry and health sciences. NDs are a vast group of neuronal disorders that include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD, Huntington’s disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as the most common prevalent forms. The number of individuals with some kind of dementia is estimated from 46.8 million people worldwide in 2015 to a number close to 50 million people in 2017. Considering the current increase in the elderly population worldwide, especially in the most developed countries, this number is thought to almost double every 20 years, reaching 75 million in 2030 and 131.5 million in 2050. The etiology of such NDs is still not fully understood, but the elderly, associated with selective neuronal vulnerability, is considered the main risk factor. The biochemical and cellular basis of NDs have been intensively studied during the last 2 decades, and currently, there is a consensus that their hallmark is represented by complex multifactorial-based pathogenesis, affecting protein misfolding, immune system activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, neuronal loss, and neuroinflammation. In the brain defense system, microglial cells act as macrophage-like cells, monitoring and regulating tissue homeostasis in the neuronal environment, and play a key role in neuroinflammatory conditions related to NDs. During their regulatory functions in brain homeostasis, these cells can undergo changes in their metabolism and morphology, leading to two types, named resting and activated microglia. Resting microglia may turn into other distinct phenotypes depending on the signals received and could originate an M1 state, that releases pro-inflammatory cytokines and other cytotoxic substances, which activate astrocytes and reinforce inflammation and neurodegeneration. Once activated, microglia produce proinflammatory and neurotoxic factors, including cytokines such as TNF-α, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, and free radicals (e.g., NO, superoxide) as a response to immunological stimuli. Therefore, in the last decades, a number of results have demonstrated that inflammation around misfolding protein deposits leads to the destruction of neighboring neurons, being also responsible, at least in part, for an exacerbated oxidative condition, increasing the generation of radical species that, in turn, modify the intracellular environment and reinforce neuroinflammation. Thus, considering the lack of efficacy from the current available one-target selective drugs for the treatment of NDs, and that neuroinflammation is one of the key factors of installation and progression of NDs, the development of multi-target directed ligands, which includes anti-neuroinflammatory properties, could represent a great advance in the development of more effective and disease-modifying drug candidates for NDs.

    Keywords: neuroinflammation; neurodegenerative diseases; multi-target directed ligands; neuroprotection; multifunctional drug candidates; drug design for neurodegenerative diseases

    Call for Papers

    Published Articles

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    • Aims and Scope
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    • Ongoing Special Issues
      Neuroprotective Nitric Oxide and Its Metabolites (Nitrite and Nitrate)
      Cognitive Alterations in Psychiatry
      Glia and Neuroprotection
      The Future of Biomarkers in CNS Diseases
      Biomarkers in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
      Molecular Mechanisms of Ischemic Tolerance in the Brain
      Recent Advances in Neurochemistry and Genetics of Late-onset Alzheimer's Disease
      The Search for Biomarkers: from Diagnosis to Progression Assessment
      Parkinson's Disease: Principal Targets and Interventional Mechanisms
      Intervention of Neuroimmune Responses
      Role of the Monoaminergic Systems in the Pathogenesis and the Pathophysiology of Parkinson's Disease
      The Urgent Need for New Hypotheses to Develop Effective Therapeutic Tools Against Alzheimer's Disease
      New Advances in Imaging Techniques for the Evaluation of Neurological Disorders
      Natural Products in Neurotherapeutic Applications
      Penetrance and Metabolism of Brain Drugs
      Therapeutic Targets for Neuroprotection in Ischemic Stroke
      Neuroinvasion, Neuropathogenesis and Neuroprotective Agents in the Pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2
      Empower Yourself - Physical Activity as Prevention and Rehabilitation of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
      Neuro-Inflammation as a Target in the Design of Multifunctional Drug Candidates for Neurodegenerative Diseases
      Dry Needling for Neurological Disorders
      Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
      Defending the Brain and the Mind: Exploring Neuroprotective Therapies for Mental Health Disorders
      Synaptic Pruning and Autophagy: from Physiology to Pathology
    • Completed Special Issues
      Cholesterol Dyshomeostasis in Neurological Diseases
      Emerging Concepts in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
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