Cholinergic System Dysfunction and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Cause or Effect?

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been the first molecule to be identified as neurotransmitter. The cholinergic and cholinoceptive areas, both in central and peripheral nervous system, have been well documented. Acetylcholine has been described to control, during embryogenesis, cell proliferation as well as neuron and glial cell survival and differentiation. In the adult, ACh and its receptors are distributed in the nervous system and in the other tissues. More recently, new physiological roles in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues have been proposed for ACh as well as its possible involvement in different pathologies. Altered levels of ACh or modified receptors expression and function, in selected areas of the nervous system, have been described in several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington as well as in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Frequently own cognitive, behavioral and motor disabilities that characterize these pathologies are correlate