Abstract:

Neurodegeneration is a key aspect of a large number of diseases that come under the umbrella of “neurodegenerative diseases” with the most notable being Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s disease. They are all incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells and are the leading cause of disability in the elderly. The incidence of these diseases is on the rise and yet there is a paucity of effective therapies to treat them. Research is now focused on understanding the mechanisms of disease in order to develop new therapies and strategies that may benefit patients suffering from any of the conditions. SF exerts pleiotropic actions on different cellular targets protecting neurons by cell death induced by MG exposure. SF action, in fact, could not be ascribed to a simple anti-glycative process, but, considering the “tandem” of free radical and MG and the fall in intracellular GSH concentration, it can modulate different cellular functions leading to a pro-survival frame of particular importance in the prevention/counteraction of multifactorial neurodegenerative diseases like AD.