Application of Contemporary Neuroproteomic Techniques in Unravelling Neurological Disorders

Decades of research has stunned us with the very distinctive anatomy and physiology of our brain, and on the other hand, its complexity has always posed great difficulty in treating its dysfunction or damage. Understanding the brain under normal and, particularly in the diseased state, has always been very challenging and would have been impossible without proteomics. Neuroproteomic techniques have been extensively used for unraveling both dynamics and content of the proteome of our nervous system. This modern-day investigation and quantification of protein concentration and expression have given us a platform that enhances our knowledge on disease-associated processes and pathways modification and also leads to the identification of possible biomarkers that can be therapeutically targeted. With an increased interest in identifying and targeting possible biomarkers, this article focuses on describing applications of the much discussed neuroproteomics, with a significant role in the disease pathogenesis of some very common neurological disorders. This article will collectively discuss the use and relevance of neuroproteomics in a range of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders. We have also attempted to present the current successes and failures of the neuroproteomics approach on the results obtained from different clinical studies that targeted biomarkers associated with any particular neurological disorder.