With better hygienic conditions and increasing life expectancy, neurodegenerative disorders caused by genetic and/ or environmental factors are becoming more prevalent, especially because many of them have a late onset. The changing lifestyle is further aggravating the societal burden of neurological disorders. This has stimulated a great deal of research in recent decades not only to understand the molecular and cellular factors underlying the variety of neurodegenerative disorders but also to find appropriate therapies. The remarkably focused and powerful tools of current biology in conjunction with equally powerful technology are being widely used for these purposes. A variety of experimental models, including yeast, Caenorhabditis, Drosophila, Zebra fish, mouse, cells in culture etc, have been created to facilitate in-depth understanding of such disorders and to find genetic and environmental factors that suppress or enhance the disorder so that appropriate therapy may be developed. Such multipronged approaches have indeed greatly advanced our understanding of these disorders and for several of which drugs with varying degrees of effectiveness have been formulated.

doi : 10.5214/ans.0972.7531.200101