[Regulatory molecular mechanisms of the neurochemical processes. History and the present time]

Multiple neurochemical mechanisms (neurotransmitters, regulatory peptides, neurotrophic growth factors, and proteins of the signaling transducer systems) maintain the integrity of nerve cell circuits, facilitate the responses to environmental demands and promote the recovery of a function after injury. The recent application of modern approaches of molecular and cellular biology to the problem of "diseased (bad) brain" reveals a remarkable capacity within brain cells for adaptation to aging and resistance to a disease. The death of neurons in different neurological disorders involves apoptotic biochemical cascades leading to mitochondrial alterations, upstream pro-apoptotic effectors, and caspases activation. At the cellular level, neuronal apoptosis in ischemic and neurodegenerative disorders may be triggered by oxidative stress, mitochondrial compromise and disruption of calcium homeostasis. Both genetic and environmental factors, and the aging process itself, contribute to initiation of such neuronal apoptosis. Neuroprotective (antiapoptotic) signal pathways involving neurotrophic factors, neuropeptides, and mediators able to counteract with effects of aging and genetic predisposition in experimental models and clinical events of neuro-destructive disorders.