Apostolakis Sotirios, Kypraiou Anna-Maria
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Rev Neurosci. 2017 Nov 27;28(8):893-911. doi: 10.1515/revneuro-2017-0020.
Brain iron deposits have been reported consistently in imaging and histologic examinations of patients with neurodegenerative disorders. While the origins of this finding have not been clarified yet, it is speculated that impaired iron homeostasis or deficient transport mechanisms result in the accumulation of this highly toxic metal ultimately leading to formation of reactive oxygen species and cell death. On the other hand, there are also those who support that iron is just an incidental finding, a by product of neuronal loss. A literature review has been performed in order to present the key findings in support of the iron hypothesis of neurodegeneration, as well as to identify conditions causing or resulting from iron overload and compare and contrast their features with the most prominent neurodegenerative disorders. There is an abundance of experimental and observational findings in support of the hypothesis in question; however, as neurodegeneration is a rare incident of commonly encountered iron-associated disorders of the nervous system, and this metal is found in non-neurodegenerative disorders as well, it is possible that iron is the result or even an incidental finding in neurodegeneration. Understanding the underlying processes of iron metabolism in the brain and particularly its release during cell damage is expected to provide a deeper understanding of the origins of neurodegeneration in the years to come.
在神经退行性疾病患者的影像学和组织学检查中，脑铁沉积一直有报道。虽然这一发现的起源尚未明确，但据推测，铁稳态受损或转运机制缺陷会导致这种剧毒金属的积累，最终导致活性氧的形成和细胞死亡。另一方面，也有人支持铁只是一个偶然发现，是神经元丢失的副产品。为了呈现支持神经退行性变铁假说的关键发现，进行了一项文献综述，以确定导致铁过载或由铁过载引起的情况，并将其特征与最突出的神经退行性疾病进行比较和对比。有大量的实验和观察结果支持该假说；然而，由于神经退行性变是常见的铁相关神经系统疾病中的罕见事件，并且这种金属也存在于非神经退行性疾病中，所以铁有可能是神经退行性变的结果甚至是偶然发现。预计了解大脑中铁代谢的潜在过程，特别是其在细胞损伤期间的释放，将在未来几年为神经退行性变的起源提供更深入的理解。
