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Updated: Jul 18, 2025
10:38
Author Spotlight: Understanding the Impact of Pathological Proteins on Axonal Transport in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: December 22, 2023
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The tauopathies
1Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, United States.
Handbook of Clinical Neurology
|August 24, 2023
Summary
Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases caused by abnormal tau protein aggregates. Diagnosis is challenging due to overlapping symptoms and lack of biomarkers, with current treatments only managing symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuropathology
- Genetics
Background:
- Tauopathies are a diverse group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by abnormal tau protein aggregates.
- Tau protein is crucial for microtubule stability and intracellular transport; its aberrant modification leads to neurodegeneration.
- These disorders can be primary (e.g., Pick disease, progressive supranuclear palsy) or secondary, as in Alzheimer's disease where amyloid-beta also plays a role.
Conclusions:
- Accurate clinical diagnosis of tauopathies is challenging due to symptom overlap and co-pathologies, necessitating improved diagnostic tools.
- Despite extensive research, effective disease-modifying therapies for tauopathies remain elusive, underscoring the need for novel therapeutic strategies.
- Understanding the diverse mechanisms underlying tauopathies is critical for developing targeted treatments and improving patient outcomes.
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