TY - JOUR
T1 - The promise of molecular science in brain health. What breakthroughs are anticipated in the next 20 years?
AU - Hainsworth, Atticus H.
AU - Blackburn, Thomas P.
AU - Bradshaw, Elizabeth M.
AU - Elahi, Fanny M.
AU - Gorelick, Philip B.
AU - Isaacs, Jeremy D.
AU - Wallin, Anders
AU - Williams, Steven CR
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Brain health means optimal physiological brain function across the normal life-course. It encompasses not only healthy brain aging but also brain diseases, their diagnosis and treatment. In all these areas, molecular science has advanced our understanding. This multi-disciplinary review combines viewpoints from laboratory science, clinical medicine and the bioscience industry. First, we review the advances that molecular science has brought to brain health in the past twenty years. These include therapeutic antibodies for CNS diseases (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease) and the dramatic introduction of RNA-targeted therapeutics. Second, we highlight areas where greater molecular understanding is needed. Salient examples are the relation of brain structure to cognitive symptoms, and molecular biomarkers for diagnosis, target discovery and testing of interventions. Finally, we speculate on aspects of molecular science that are likely to advance brain health in the next twenty years. These include: cell senescence and chronobiology; gene editing (notably, CRISPR) and RNA targeting (RNA interference, miRNA manipulation); brain-immune interactions; novel drug targets (AQP4, HIF1, Toll-like receptors); and novel chemistry to make new drugs (molecular machines, quantum molecular modelling and “click” chemistry). Early testing of the relationships between molecular pathways and clinical manifestations will drive much-needed breakthroughs in neurology and psychiatry.
AB - Brain health means optimal physiological brain function across the normal life-course. It encompasses not only healthy brain aging but also brain diseases, their diagnosis and treatment. In all these areas, molecular science has advanced our understanding. This multi-disciplinary review combines viewpoints from laboratory science, clinical medicine and the bioscience industry. First, we review the advances that molecular science has brought to brain health in the past twenty years. These include therapeutic antibodies for CNS diseases (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease) and the dramatic introduction of RNA-targeted therapeutics. Second, we highlight areas where greater molecular understanding is needed. Salient examples are the relation of brain structure to cognitive symptoms, and molecular biomarkers for diagnosis, target discovery and testing of interventions. Finally, we speculate on aspects of molecular science that are likely to advance brain health in the next twenty years. These include: cell senescence and chronobiology; gene editing (notably, CRISPR) and RNA targeting (RNA interference, miRNA manipulation); brain-immune interactions; novel drug targets (AQP4, HIF1, Toll-like receptors); and novel chemistry to make new drugs (molecular machines, quantum molecular modelling and “click” chemistry). Early testing of the relationships between molecular pathways and clinical manifestations will drive much-needed breakthroughs in neurology and psychiatry.
KW - Ageing
KW - Brain disease
KW - Brain function
KW - Brain health
KW - Neuroscience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201767124&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cccb.2024.100364
DO - 10.1016/j.cccb.2024.100364
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85201767124
SN - 2666-2450
VL - 7
JO - Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior
JF - Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior
M1 - 100364
ER -