Abstract
For the first time in history, most of the population has a life expectancy equal or greater than 60 years. By the year 2050, it is expected that the world population in that age range will reach 2000 million, an increase of 900 million with respect to 2015, which poses new challenges for health systems. In this way, it is relevant to analyze the most common diseases associated with the aging process, namely Alzheimer´s disease, Parkinson Disease and Type II Diabetes, some of which may have a common genetic component that can be detected before manifesting, in order to delay their progress. Genetic inheritance and epigenetics are factors that could be linked in the development of these pathologies. Some researchers indicate that the BDNF gene is a common factor of these diseases, and apparently some of its polymorphisms favor the progression of them. In this regard, alterations in the level of BDNF expression and secretion, due to polymorphisms, could be linked to the development and/or progression of neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders. In this review we will deepen on the different polymorphisms in the BDNF gene and their possible association with age-related pathologies, to open the possibilities of potential therapeutic targets.
Highlights
From a biological point of view, aging is the consequence of the accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time, leading to a gradual decline in physical and mental abilities, an increased risk of disease, and death [10]
There are several studies, which mostly show that serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels are significantly lower in patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) compared with healthy individuals [110]
Genome-wide association studies have identified many obesity/body mass index (BMI)-associated loci among which BDNF polymorphisms have been studied in different populations, on its association with obesity but the development of T2D [107]
Summary
From a biological point of view, aging is the consequence of the accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time, leading to a gradual decline in physical and mental abilities, an increased risk of disease, and death [10]. By the year 2050, it is expected that the world population in that age range will reach 2 billion, an increase of 900 million with respect to 2015 [10], which poses new challenges for health systems. In this regard, chronic and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson, and type 2 Diabetes are age-associated pathologies with the most pronounced impact on the economic sphere of developed country's health system. Given the impact of global aging and the diseases associated with this process, it is important to study how each one of these pathologies develop and regulate to further find possible early markers as tools to. The focus of this review is to emphasize the importance of BDNF genetic variants in these 3 age-associated diseases, towards contributing to a new possible strategy of potential links between them and the aging process
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