Transgenic animals as models of neurodegenerative diseases in humans

Neurodegenerative diseases are of major socioeconomic importance and represent an enormous challenge for the scientific and medical communities. Advances in molecular genetics during the past decade have begun to provide approaches for the establishment of animal models for these disorders using transgenic technology. Their analysis will lead to better understanding of disease pathogenesis and will be invaluable for the identification of novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents. With the current pace of genomic research, the generation of transgenic animal models, reproducing in full the pathology and symptoms of even complex disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, must now be considered achievable.