Neurodegenerative diseases constitute a heterogeneous group of age-related disorders that are characterized by a slow but irreversible deterioration of brain functions. Evidence accumulated over more than two decades has implicated calcium-related homeostatic mechanisms, giving rise to the Ca(2+) hypothesis of brain aging and, ultimately, cell death. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter within the central (CNS), peripheral and enteric nervous systems. It appears to be involved in a wide variety of physiological functions within and outside the nervous system, that are maintained through a complex interaction between GABA and calcium-dependent neurotransmission and cellular metabolic functions. Within CNS the Ca(2+)/GABA mechanism stabilizes neuronal activity both at cellular and systemic levels. Decline in the Ca(2+)/GABA control initiates several cascading processes leading to both weakened protective barriers (in particular the blood-brain barrier) and accumulations of intracellular deposits of calcium and Lewy bodies. Linking such a vital mechanism of synaptic transmission with metabolism (both at cellular and tissue level) by means of a common reciprocal Ca(2+)/GABA inhibition results in a fragile balance, which is prone to destabilization and auto-destruction. The GABA decline etiology proposed here appears to apply to all human neurodegenerative processes initiated by abnormal intracellular calcium levels. Therefore, the original description of Parkinson's disease (PD) as due to the selective damage of dopaminergic neurons in the mesencephalon should be updated into the concept of a severe multisystemic neurodegenerative disorder of the nervous system, whose clinical symptoms reflect the localization and progression of the most advanced GABA pathology. A future and more complete therapeutic approach to PD should be aimed first at slowing (or stopping) the progression of Ca(2+)/GABA functional decline.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
15
6%
Other
51
19%
Unknown
89
33%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 20. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 November 2023.
All research outputs
#1,973,208
of 26,430,863 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in Neuroscience
#1,050
of 11,866 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#33,668
of 360,338 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Neuroscience
#22
of 177 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 26,430,863 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 92nd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 11,866 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.3. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 360,338 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 177 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its contemporaries.
