EN
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease (HD) represent four of the major
neurodegenerative diseases. AD, PD and ALS are complex disorders
including both Mendelian and sporadic forms. Studies on families with
these diseases led to the identification of several genes and pathways
responsible for the familial forms. Those studies have been paralleled
by hundreds of genetic association studies, including genome-wide
screenings, in order to identify genes likely contributing to the sporadic
forms. HD is a monogenic disorder caused by a trinucleotide repeat
expansion in the causative gene. Increasing evidence points to an
epigenetic contribution to neurodegeneration, suggesting that DNA
methylation, histone tail modifications and RNA mediated mechanisms
might contribute to the onset and progression of all the above diseases. In
addition, epigenetic drugs are promising for the restoration of memory and
motor impairments in animal models of the diseases. The aim of this review
article is to provide an updated overview of the genetics and epigenetics of
these major neurodegenerative disorders.