Generic placeholder image

CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1871-5273
ISSN (Online): 1996-3181

Pathogenic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies in Spinobulbar Muscular Atrophy

Author(s): Jason P. Chua and Andrew P. Lieberman

Volume 12, Issue 8, 2013

Page: [1146 - 1156] Pages: 11

DOI: 10.2174/187152731131200124

Price: $65

Abstract

We review the genetic and clinical features of spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a progressive neuromuscular disorder caused by a CAG/glutamine tract expansion in the androgen receptor. SBMA was the first polyglutamine disease to be discovered, and we compare and contrast it with related degenerative disorders of the nervous system caused by expanded glutamine tracts. We review the cellular and animals models that have been most widely used to study this disorder, and highlight insights into disease pathogenesis derived from this work. These model systems have revealed critical aspects of the disease, including its hormone dependence, a feature that underlies disease occurrence only in men with the mutant allele. We discuss how this and other findings have been translated to clinical trials for SBMA patients, and examine emerging therapeutic targets that have been identified by recent work.

Keywords: Androgen receptor, anti-androgen, CAG/polyglutamine disorder, motor neuron disease, protein aggregation, spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA).


Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy