[Prospects for research on the modulation of gene activity during brain aging]

This brief review is concerned with prospects of the role of modulated gene expression in the brain during aging and in two age-related neurological diseases: Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Two key mechanisms involved in the disturbance of neuronal function during aging, i. e. deafferentation syndromes (as a result of the impairment of afferent influences) and steroid-induced neuronal changes, have been studied. The author suspects that many aspects of cell aging in the brain represent the influence of the environmental factors. The conception of new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease has been developed.