Neurodegenerative diseases

Transgenic animals have come a long way in the research in the medical field to be a part of the research of neurodegenerative diseases. That's right, who would have thought that a small mouse, a commonly unappreciated rodent, would play such a large role to the human species?

Surprisingly, it's true. Transgenic mice may just be the hero for many patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In a previous post, Beginning the Research, I found an article, that explained how transgenic mice are used to model diseases for scientists and researchers to better understand the disease. According to this article, the triple transgenic mice model is the reason we are one big step closer to finding the cure for Alzheimer's Disease. I'm sure you all agree with me that this is great news because we know how dangerous Alzheimer's can be.

This article sparked my interest and gave me the idea to write my paper on transgenic mice and neurodegenerative diseases.

After doing some more research I stumbled upon two great scholarly sources that I intend to use in my paper.

A Decade of Tau Transgenic Animal Models and Beyond talks about a type of transgenic animal models, tau, and their role in Alzheimer's disease. Tau is a microtubule-assisted protein that is present in neurons. Researchers are experimenting with tau transgenic mice models because they believe that tau proteins triggers the disintegration of microtubules. Tau transgenic animal models identify disease modifiers, express genes and proteins, and develop new therapeutic strategies.

Transgenic animal models of neurodegenerative diseases and their application to treatment development is an article on neurodegenerative diseases in general instead of just Alzheimer's. Instead of focusing on tau transgenic animal models like the other article, this one focuses on the misfolded proteins. Many neurodegenerative diseases, not just Alzheimer's, are caused by aggregate proteins, proteins that are accumulated in areas such as the plasma membrane, intercellular and extracellular spaces. In this research, they use biological mouse models to better understand the pathogenesis and to discover and test new treatments. Each model targets a selective factor and mimic a specific condition of the researched disease.

Both articles remind me of how advanced technology is today. It amazes me how mice can be used to represent not just a disease as a whole, but specific characteristics of the diseases, such as tau and misfolded proteins, to learn how that one thing affects the complex disease. I will be using both articles in my research to show how transgenic animals are significant in the medical world. Centuries and decades ago, people would not have guessed the large role that these little creatures could play.