International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Margarita Neganova

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Guest Editor

Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds at Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Severnii pr-d 1, Chernogolovka 142432, Russia
Interests: brain cancer; glycolysis; abnormal tumor metabolism; tumor biomarkers; apoptosis; chemotherapy; multitarget anticancer agents
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurological diseases are a diverse group of central and peripheral nervous system pathologies, which together are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To date, the range of treatment options for neuropathologies is extremely limited, with rates reflecting the number of FDA-approved drugs remaining low compared to other pharmaceutical industries. The complexity of creating effective therapeutic strategies is due to the polyetiological nature of neurological diseases, which is manifested in the heterogeneity of pathogenetic mechanisms. The combination of these factors leads to an urgent need to identify new biomarkers and create innovative methods of treatment to solve this problem, which places a huge socio-economic burden on the healthcare system and society as a whole.

In this Special Issue, we do not want to limit the authors to only work in the field of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, etc.). Topics of interest also include mental illness, cerebrovascular, psychiatric, autoimmune-related, and traumatic diseases.

We will be sincerely glad to consider reviews of the latest achievements of highly qualified specialists in the neuroscience field, as well as experimental articles containing up-to-date information on the problems and prospects in the development of effective drugs for the various neurological disorder’s treatment.

Dr. Margarita Neganova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

neurological diseases
neurodegenerative diseases
epilepsy
mental illness
transgenic animal models
molecular pathways
metabolism disabilities
mitochondrial dysfunction
oxidative stress
disturbances in epigenetic regulation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

D^Re^Amocracy: A Method to Capitalise on Prior Drug Discovery Efforts to Highlight Candidate Drugs for Repurposing

by Kyriaki Savva, Margarita Zachariou, Marilena M. Bourdakou, Nikolas Dietis and George M. Spyrou

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5319; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105319 - 13 May 2024

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Abstract

In the area of drug research, several computational drug repurposing studies have highlighted candidate repurposed drugs, as well as clinical trial studies that have tested/are testing drugs in different phases. To the best of our knowledge, the aggregation of the proposed lists of drugs by previous studies has not been extensively exploited towards generating a dynamic reference matrix with enhanced resolution. To fill this knowledge gap, we performed weight-modulated majority voting of the modes of action, initial indications and targeted pathways of the drugs in a well-known repository, namely the Drug Repurposing Hub. Our method, D^Re^Amocracy, exploits this pile of information and creates frequency tables and, finally, a disease suitability score for each drug from the selected library. As a testbed, we applied this method to a group of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis). A super-reference table with drug suitability scores has been created for all four neurodegenerative diseases and can be queried for any drug candidate against them. Top-scored drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease include agomelatine, mirtazapine and vortioxetine; for Parkinson’s Disease, they include apomorphine, pramipexole and lisuride; for Huntington’s, they include chlorpromazine, fluphenazine and perphenazine; and for Multiple Sclerosis, they include zonisamide, disopyramide and priralfimide. Overall, D^Re^Amocracy is a methodology that focuses on leveraging the existing drug-related experimental and/or computational knowledge rather than a predictive model for drug repurposing, offering a quantified aggregation of existing drug discovery results to (1) reveal trends in selected tracks of drug discovery research with increased resolution that includes modes of action, targeted pathways and initial indications for the investigated drugs and (2) score new candidate drugs for repurposing against a selected disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Molecular Insights to Novel Therapies: Neurological Diseases)

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Review

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55 pages, 3428 KiB

Open AccessReview

Deciphering the Mysterious Relationship between the Cross-Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Neurodegenerative and Oncological Diseases

by Yulia Aleksandrova and Margarita Neganova

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14766; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914766 - 29 Sep 2023

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Abstract

The relationship between oncological pathologies and neurodegenerative disorders is extremely complex and is a topic of concern among a growing number of researchers around the world. In recent years, convincing scientific evidence has accumulated that indicates the contribution of a number of etiological factors and pathophysiological processes to the pathogenesis of these two fundamentally different diseases, thus demonstrating an intriguing relationship between oncology and neurodegeneration. In this review, we establish the general links between three intersecting aspects of oncological pathologies and neurodegenerative disorders, i.e., oxidative stress, epigenetic dysregulation, and metabolic dysfunction, examining each process in detail to establish an unusual epidemiological relationship. We also focus on reviewing the current trends in the research and the clinical application of the most promising chemical structures and therapeutic platforms that have a modulating effect on the above processes. Thus, our comprehensive analysis of the set of molecular determinants that have obvious cross-functional pathways in the pathogenesis of oncological and neurodegenerative diseases can help in the creation of advanced diagnostic tools and in the development of innovative pharmacological strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Molecular Insights to Novel Therapies: Neurological Diseases)

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