Figure 1.

Relationship between the impairment of iron metabolism and neurodegenerative diseases. Impaired iron metabolism is a hallmark in several neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's (AD) diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and neuroferritinopathies. In the case of PD and AD, iron has been shown to play a key role in neuronal fate: depending on the extent and intensity of the oxidative stress caused by the increase in the labile iron pool, it affects transcriptional activity and signaling cascades that could participate in neuronal survival or death. Although a role for iron has also been observed in MS, ALS, and neuroferritinopathies, the molecular events that lead to neuronal death are not fully understood.