Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 39263555 DOI: 10.1016/j.cccb.2024.100364
The promise of molecular science in brain health. What breakthroughs are anticipated in the next 20 years?
Cereb Circ Cogn Behav 7:100364
Authors: Atticus H Hainsworth, Thomas P Blackburn, Elizabeth M Bradshaw, Fanny M Elahi, Philip B Gorelick, Jeremy D Isaacs, Anders Wallin, Steven Cr Williams
Affiliations
- Molecular & Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George's University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
- Department of Neurology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UK.
- Translational Pharmacology BioVentures, Leigh on Sea, Essex, SS9 2UA, UK. TPBioVentures, Hoboken, NJ, USA.
- Carol and Gene Ludwig Center for Research on Neurodegeneration, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-5674, USA.
- James J. Peter VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 635 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Kings College London. SE5 8AF, UK.
Abstract
Brain health means optimal physiological brain function across the normal life-course. It encompasses not only healthy brain aging but also brain diseases, their diagnosis and treatment. In all these areas, molecular science has advanced our understanding. This multi-disciplinary review combines viewpoints from laboratory science, clinical medicine and the bioscience industry. First, we review the advances that molecular science has brought to brain health in the past twenty years. These include therapeutic antibodies for CNS diseases (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease) and the dramatic introduction of RNA-targeted therapeutics. Second, we highlight areas where greater molecular understanding is needed. Salient examples are the relation of brain structure to cognitive symptoms, and molecular biomarkers for diagnosis, target discovery and testing of interventions. Finally, we speculate on aspects of molecular science that are likely to advance brain health in the next twenty years. These include: cell senescence and chronobiology; gene editing (notably, CRISPR) and RNA targeting (RNA interference, miRNA manipulation); brain-immune interactions; novel drug targets (AQP4, HIF1, Toll-like receptors); and novel chemistry to make new drugs (molecular machines, quantum molecular modelling and "click" chemistry). Early testing of the relationships between molecular pathways and clinical manifestations will drive much-needed breakthroughs in neurology and psychiatry.
MeSH
Research Design, Alzheimer Disease, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Brain, Multiple Chronic Conditions, Diagnosis, Therapeutics