Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

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MDPI, Molecules, 9(21), p. 1165, 2016

DOI: 10.3390/molecules21091165

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Recent advances in neurogenic small molecules as innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

The central nervous system of adult mammals has long been considered as a complex static structure unable to undergo any regenerative process to refurbish its dead nodes. This dogma was challenged by Altman in the 1960s and neuron self-renewal has been demonstrated ever since in many species, including humans. Aging, neurodegenerative, and some mental diseases are associated with an exponential decrease in brain neurogenesis. Therefore, the controlled pharmacological stimulation of the endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) niches might counteract the neuronal loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other pathologies, opening an exciting new therapeutic avenue. In the last years, druggable molecular targets and signalling pathways involved in neurogenic processes have been identified, and as a consequence, different drug types have been developed and tested in neuronal plasticity. This review focuses on recent advances in neurogenic agents acting at serotonin and/or melatonin systems, Wnt/β-catenin pathway, sigma receptors, nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and nuclear erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2). ; This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, grants SAF2015-64948-C2-1-R and SAF2012-31035) partially financed by FEDER funds, and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, grant PIE-201580E10 ; Peer Reviewed