International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Novel Approaches for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease Michiel Van Bulck 1,2 , Ana Sierra-Magro 1,2, Jesus Alarcon-Gil 1, Ana Perez-Castillo 1,2 and Jose A. Morales-Garcia 1,2,3,* 1 Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CSIC-UAM), Arturo Duperier, 4. 28029 Madrid, Spain;
[email protected] (M.V.B.);
[email protected] (A.S.-M.);
[email protected] (J.A.-G.);
[email protected] (A.P.-C.) 2 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valderrebollo, 5, 28031 Madrid, Spain 3 Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 31 December 2018; Accepted: 3 February 2019; Published: 8 February 2019 Abstract: Neurodegenerative disorders affect around one billion people worldwide. They can arise from a combination of genomic, epigenomic, metabolic, and environmental factors. Aging is the leading risk factor for most chronic illnesses of old age, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. A progressive neurodegenerative process and neuroinflammation occur, and no current therapies can prevent, slow, or halt disease progression. To date, no novel disease-modifying therapies have been shown to provide significant benefit for patients who suffer from these devastating disorders. Therefore, early diagnosis and the discovery of new targets and novel therapies are of upmost importance. Neurodegenerative diseases, like in other age-related disorders, the progression of pathology begins many years before the onset of symptoms. Many efforts in this field have led to the conclusion that exits some similar events among these diseases that can explain why the aging brain is so vulnerable to suffer neurodegenerative diseases.