#FrontiersInNeuroscience

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🧬 MicroRNAs: Revolutionizing Early Diagnosis in Neurodegenerative Diseases

By Hafiz Muhammad Husnain Azam Researcher, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg 📘 Published 🔗 Read Full Review on Frontiers

The Neurodegenerative Crisis: A Call for Precision Diagnostics

As the global population ages, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs)—such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, and Huntington’s—is projected to rise sharply. Yet early diagnosis remains elusive, often occurring only after irreversible neuronal damage has already taken hold.

In our newly published review, we explore microRNAs (miRNAs) as next-generation diagnostic tools—unlocking their power to detect neurodegenerative diseases early, non-invasively, and with molecular precision.

What Makes MicroRNAs Game-Changers?

MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, acting as master switches for cellular behavior. Their dysregulation is intimately linked to key neurodegenerative processes including:

Protein aggregation (e.g., amyloid-beta, tau, alpha-synuclein)

Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress

Synaptic plasticity and neuronal survival

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as ubiquitination and phosphorylation

Key Highlights from the Review:

🔬 Pathway Regulation MiRNAs are involved in modulating tau and amyloid-beta synthesis, dopamine signaling, and neuroimmune responses—making them sensitive indicators of early neurodegenerative change.

🧠 Aging & Disease Progression Aging alters miRNA profiles in the brain, impacting neurogenesis, synaptic function, and protein homeostasis—factors critical in both healthy aging and disease onset.

🧪 PTMs and Protein Homeostasis We examine how miRNAs affect proteins central to the ubiquitin-proteasome system, a key pathway in preventing toxic protein accumulation.

💉 Non-Invasive Biomarkers MiRNAs are detectable in blood, CSF, and saliva, allowing for minimally invasive diagnostics that can detect NDs before clinical symptoms appear.

📈 Clinical Applications & Limitations We review key candidate miRNAs (e.g., miR-34a, miR-146a, miR-132) and discuss the current challenges in standardization, sensitivity, and specificity in clinical practice.

Why It Matters

MiRNA-based diagnostics could redefine the clinical approach to neurodegenerative diseases—enabling earlier interventions, better patient stratification, and personalized treatment strategies. This marks a pivotal step toward precision neurology.

Next Steps: Translating Research into Clinical Reality

Our review calls for:

Standardized miRNA panels for clinical testing

Advanced detection technologies (e.g., NGS, qPCR, microarrays)

Cross-disciplinary collaborations to move from lab to clinic

📖 Explore the full article: Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience 🔗 Nature Shortlink: go.nature.com/3FSQrke

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1386735