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Tackling neurodegenerative diseases: animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract

Our ageing society is confronted with a dramatic increase in incidence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases; biomedical research leading to novel therapeutic strategies is crucial to address this problem. Animal models of neurodegenerative conditions are invaluable in improving our understanding of the molecular basis of pathology, potentially revealing novel targets for intervention. Here, we review transgenic animal models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease reported in mice, zebrafish, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. This information will enable researchers to compare different animal models targeting disease-associated molecules by genomic engineering and to facilitate the development of novel animal models for any particular study, depending on the ultimate research goals.

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Acknowledgments

Research in Yun Kee’s laboratory is supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to YK (2011-0021845).

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  1. Department of Systems Immunology, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwondo, 200-701, Republic of Korea

    Ahmed A. Raslan & Yun Kee

  2. Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 200-701, Republic of Korea

    Yun Kee

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  1. Ahmed A. Raslan
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Correspondence to Yun Kee.

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Raslan, A.A., Kee, Y. Tackling neurodegenerative diseases: animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Genes Genom 35, 425–440 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-013-0116-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-013-0116-2

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