11 results

• α-synuclein

  A neuronal protein involved in synaptic function that, when misfolded and aggregated, contributes to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and related synucleinopathies.

  Reference:

  Lashuel HA, Overk CR, Oueslati A, Masliah E. The many faces of α-synuclein: from structure and toxicity to therapeutic target. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2013;14(1):38-48. doi:10.1038/nrn3406

• Active metabolite

  A biologically active compound produced when a drug is metabolized, contributing to the drug’s therapeutic or adverse effects.

  Reference:

  Gad SC. Active drug metabolites in drug development. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2003;3(1):98-100. doi:10.1016/S1471-4892(02)00003-6

• Adverse events (AEs)

  Any unintended or harmful medical occurrences in a clinical trial participant who is receiving a drug or undergoing a study procedure, which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the treatment.

  Reference:

  EU Clinical Trials Register. Glossary [Internet]. [cited 2025 Nov]. Available from: https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/doc/EU_Clinical_Trials_Register_Glossary.pdf

• Akinetic-rigid

  Parkinsonian trait characterized by reduced movement initiation (akinesia) and increased muscle tone (rigidity), usually with little or no tremor.

  Reference:

  Höglinger GU, Respondek G, Stamelou M, et al. Clinical diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy: the movement disorder society criteria. Mov Disord. 2017;32(6):853-864. doi:10.1002/mds.26987

• Aphasia

  In the context of PSP, it refers to an acquired, progressive impairment of language function that can manifest as non-fluent, agrammatic speech, effortful and halting verbal output, and deficits in syntactic comprehension.

  Reference:

  Burrell JR, Ballard KJ, Halliday GM, Hodges JR. Aphasia in progressive supranuclear palsy: as severe as progressive non-fluent aphasia. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;61(2):705-715. doi:10.3233/JAD-170743

• Apraxia

  Impairment of the ability to perform purposeful, skilled movements that cannot be explained by basic motor deficits such as weakness, rigidity, bradykinesia, or tremor. In PSP, apraxia is most commonly ideomotor apraxia, which manifests as difficulty in executing learned movements on command or by imitation, despite intact comprehension and basic motor function, but other types as limb-kinetic apraxia (clumsy, imprecise movements, and difficulty with fine motor tasks) or apraxia of speech (effortful, halting speech with sound distortions) could also occur in specific phenotypes or advanced disease.

  Reference:

  Golbe LI, Ohman-Strickland PA. A clinical rating scale for progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain. 2007;130(Pt 6):1552-1565. doi:10.1093/brain/awm032 | Leiguarda RC, Pramstaller PP, Merello M, Starkstein S, Lees AJ, Marsden CD. Apraxia in Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy and neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism. Brain. 1997;120(Pt 1):75-90. doi:10.1093/brain/120.1.75 | Boxer AL, Yu JT, Golbe LI, Litvan I, Lang AE, Höglinger GU. Advances in progressive supranuclear palsy: new diagnostic criteria, biomarkers, and therapeutic approaches. Lancet Neurol. 2017;16(7):552-563. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30157-6

• Area under the curve (AUC)

  A measure of the total drug exposure over time, representing the area under the plasma concentration-time curve.

  Reference:

  Grogan S, Preuss CV. Pharmacokinetics. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 [cited 2025 Nov]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557744/

• Astrogliosis

  Reactive proliferation and hypertrophy of astrocytes in response to neural injury or disease, contributing to inflammation and scar formation in the central nervous system.

  Reference:

  Sofroniew MV, Vinters HV. Astrocytes: biology and pathology. Acta Neuropathol. 2010;119(1):7-35. doi:10.1007/s00401-009-0619-8

• Atrophy

  Shrinkage of tissue visible on imaging tests. In the case of the PSP, it refers to loss of brain volume.

  Reference:

  Höglinger GU, Respondek G, Stamelou M, et al. Clinical diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy: the movement disorder society criteria. Mov Disord. 2017;32(6):853-864. doi:10.1002/mds.26987

• Autosomal dominant transmission

  A pattern of inheritance where only one copy of a mutated gene is enough to cause the disease.

  Reference:

  Mayo Clinic. Autosomal dominant inheritance pattern [Internet]. [cited 2025 Nov]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/muscular-dystrophy/multimedia/autosomal-dominant-inheritance-pattern/img-20006210

• Axonal transport

  The bidirectional movement of cellular structures, proteins, and other materials within neurons, essential for maintaining neuronal function and survival.

  Reference:

  Kapitein LC, Hoogenraad CC. Building the neuronal microtubule cytoskeleton. Neuron. 2015;87(3):492-506. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.05.046