Overview and recent advances in neuropathology. Part 2: Neurodegeneration

The sections in the following review cover six main neurodegenerative diseases. The first article on Alzheimer's disease (AD) outlines the major evidence available to date that links Aβ-amyloid peptide as a proximal cause of AD. The article also highlights how an initial finding of the protein content of the amyloid plaque seen in the brains of patients with AD has led to many very significant findings in the neuroscience field. The next section outlines the many and recent advances that have occurred in the field of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), including the most recent finding related to the fused sarcoma gene (FUS) and the newest nomenclature whereby the FTLD is subtyped according to the presence of specific proteins seen at a microscopic level. The section on Lewy bodies outlines the latest advances in the relationship between the anatomical distribution of Lewy bodies and disease phenotype. The following section includes an overview of current known genetic links with familial causes of motor neuron disease (MND) and an update on the areas being researched into the causes of sporadic MND. The presence of TDP-43 within inclusions and its new diagnostic role in MND are discussed. The final article on prion diseases gives an overview of human prion diseases, including the phenotypic spectrum, epidemiology and diagnostic investigations relevant to disease.