In this interview, Dr. Xu Yuzhen, the guest editor of the Special Issue "Molecular Biomarkers in the Prediction, Diagnosis, and Prognosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases" in BioMed Research International, introduces the latest advances in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and shares his recommendations for authors who are preparing to contribute to this Special Issue.
Why did you choose "Molecular Biomarkers in the Prediction, Diagnosis, and Prognosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases" as the topic of your Special Issue?
Nowadays, the high incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, especially in low-and middle-income countries, has become a major cause affecting the quality of life of the elderly in the world. Although some progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiological underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, it is essential to seek the molecular biomarkers for the prediction, diagnosis and prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases.
Could you tell your research background in the field of neurodegenerative diseases?
I conducted studies on stroke, diabetic neuropathy and cognitive disorder in my master's, doctoral and post-doctoral stages, respectively. Zhao Yuwu, Professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University and my doctoral tutor, committed to the research of diabetic encephalopathy for many years, taking the leading in China., Liu Xueyuan, Professor of Tongji University and my post-doctoral tutor, deeply engaged in basic and clinical research on Alzheimer's disease for many years, ranking among the first-line experts in China. My scientific research has always been around neurodegenerative diseases, so I have focused on the research of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases in recent years.
What major advances you noticed in this field in recent years?
Neurodegenerative diseases are a major global health challenge. In recent years, several neuroprotective drugs have failed in human clinical trials. Therefore, it is urgent to innovate a neurodegenerative disease model to replicate human pathophysiology as accurately as possible. The course of neurodegenerative diseases is accompanied by a series of brain injuries, for which oxidative stress and inflammatory response are two important neuropathological mechanisms. Therefore, it is of great significance for the prediction, diagnosis and prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases to seek the ways to alleviate inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Researchers focus on oxidative stress and inflammatory response of neurodegenerative diseases, especially the molecular and cellular mechanisms of ultra-early biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.
What is your advice towards the authors preparing to contribute to this Special Issue?
In this Special Issue, we will further focus on molecular biomarkers for the prediction, diagnosis and prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the targeted prevention and treatment strategies for novel molecular biomarkers. In addition, we will also collect more reviews or articles on glial cell research, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and TCM treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to improve the concentration rate of the Special Issue. We will also receive articles on neurodegenerative diseases based on network pharmacology, bioinformatics and omics.
What benefits serving as guest editor of this Special Issue will bring to researchers?
In my opinion, being the guest editor of this Special Issue will bring benefits to researchers in two aspects. You will have the opportunity to communicate with experts and scholars in this Special Issue, understand the hot spots and trends in this field, and keep updated, and you willl enrich the academic experience by determining the direction of the Special Issue and evaluating the submitting papers.
You can help advance research in this field and explore previously submitted articles by following the link below.
Be part of this Special Issue >>
Xu Yuzhen, is a doctor of Neurology, Deputy Secretary General of Intellectual Association of Shandong First Medical University; he also serves as chief physician, professor, master tutor and post-doctoral tutor. His research interests include basic and clinical research of neurodegenerative diseases. He is currently serving at the editorial board of the Hindawi journals Disease Markers and Journal of Immunology Research, and several Chinese journals, and engaged in manuscript review for several Chinese and English journals. In recent years, he has published more than 40 articles in Chinese and English, and presided over and participated in many research projects.
This blog post is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). Illustration by David Jury.