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Neurodegenerative disease
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<p>A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of <a href="/facts/Neuron/G7CyTVdH">neurons</a>, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their <a href="/facts/Cell_death/UYCzvewT">death</a>. Neurodegenerative diseases include <a href="/facts/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis/9fIXnNL4">amyotrophic lateral sclerosis</a>, <a href="/facts/Multiple_sclerosis/vghXl0IQ">multiple sclerosis</a>, <a href="/facts/Parkinson%2527s_disease/xpekKj6x">Parkinson's disease</a>, <a href="/facts/Alzheimer%2527s_disease/w7Ad6tdg">Alzheimer's disease</a>, <a href="/facts/Huntington%2527s_disease/2P6yCoeK">Huntington's disease</a>, <a href="/facts/Multiple_system_atrophy/ndcFsMjn">multiple system atrophy</a>, <a href="/facts/Tauopathy/y8Uw7zGv">tauopathies</a>, and <a href="/facts/Prion_diseases/UJfG9EfS">prion diseases</a>. Neurodegeneration can be found in the brain at many different levels of neuronal circuitry, ranging from molecular to systemic. Because there is no known way to reverse the progressive degeneration of neurons, these diseases are considered to be incurable; however research has shown that the two major contributing factors to neurodegeneration are <a href="/facts/Oxidative_stress/HX7dfUUb">oxidative stress</a> and <a href="/facts/Inflammation/Ura86MIy">inflammation</a>. Biomedical research has revealed many similarities between these diseases at the <a href="/facts/Subcellular/bLM9UQvy">subcellular</a> level, including atypical protein assemblies (like <a href="/facts/Proteinopathy/woWrXMXM">proteinopathy</a>) and induced cell death. These similarities suggest that <a href="/facts/Therapy/2ytkGbgT">therapeutic</a> advances against one neurodegenerative disease might ameliorate other diseases as well. </p><p>Within neurodegenerative diseases, it is estimated that 55 million people worldwide had <a href="/facts/Dementia/T0MRDE9I">dementia</a> in 2019, and that by 2050 this figure will increase to 139 million people. </p>