The disclosure pertains to conformational epitopes in alpha-synuclein, antibodies thereto and methods of making and using immunogens and antibodies specific thereto. In particular antibodies raised to cyclic compounds comprising at least 3 amino acids of EKTKEQ (SEQ ID NO: 1) selectively recognize misfolded oligomeric alpha-synuclein and are able to inhibit alpha-synuclein propagation and toxicity.

Alpha-sheet polypeptide multimers, and polypeptides for making multimers, compositions and medical devices including them, and their use for treating and diagnosing amyloid diseases or amyloid-associated diseases are disclosed.

The invention provides a method that gives direct information about the intervention of a potential drug on the secondary structure distribution of a targetbiomolecule, i.e., for a disease with misfolded protein, such as neurodegenerative diseases in a complex body fluid. The secondary structural change is monitored by vibrational spectroscopy. The method can be applied for prescreening of drug candidates for targeting of specific biomolecules. The effect of the drug on the secondary structure distribution is monitored label-free in real time and provides thereby direct information about the efficacy of the potential drug.

Disclosed herein are methods and compositions that can be used to improve motor deficits and neuroinflammation in subjects in need, for example subjects suffering from neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease). Also disclosed are methods and compositions that can be used to diagnose neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.

The present invention relates to use of PAK4 and CRTC1 or the treatment or diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease. Specifically, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease comprising PAK4 (p21-activated kinase 4) or a PAK4 activator as an effective ingredient. In addition, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease comprising a CRTC1 expression enhancer or activator as an effective ingredient, a diagnostic kit for a degenerative brain disease comprising an agent for detecting CRTC1, and a method for screening a substance for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease, comprising (a) applying a candidate drug to brain tissue or brain cells containing CRTC1 gene or CRTC1 protein; (b) measuring the degree of phosphorylation in CRTC1; and (c) determining the candidate drug as a substance for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease when the measurement in step (b) indicates that the phosphorylation in CRTC1 is increased.

The present invention relates to a method for producing induced dopaminergic neuronal progenitors from adult cells using direct reprogramming, induced dopaminergic neuronal progenitors produced via the method and a use for same, wherein, as a result of having been directly reprogrammed from adult cells, the induced dopaminergic neuronal progenitors produced by means of the present invention can be transplanted inside a living body without the risk of oncogenicity, and have excellent proliferative capacity and dopaminergic neuronal differentiation potency, thus can be usefully utilized as a cell therapy product for Parkinson's disease.

The present disclosure provides methods for the treatment of a mammal having a neurological condition, disease, or injury. The methods involve increasing the number of functional GABAergic interneurons at or near the site of the neurological disease, injury, or condition.

The present disclosure provides in one aspect monoclonal antibodies that bind α-Synuclein. In certain aspects, the antibodies preferentially bind to α-Synuclein fibrils over α-Synuclein monomer. In other aspects, the disclosure provides a method of treating, ameliorating, and/or preventing α-Synucleopathic disease in a subject, comprising administering any one of the antibodies of the disclosure to the subject. In yet other aspects, the disclosure provides methods of detecting α-Synuclein fibrils using any one of the antibodies of the disclosure.

The disclosure discloses anti α-Syn antibodies preferentially recognizing α-Syn aggregates. The antibodies of the present invention bind to α-Syn aggregates with high affinity and specificity and inhibit accumulation or intercellular transfer of α-Syn aggregates, and thus can be used for detection, diagnosis and/or treatment or prevention of various diseases caused by the accumulation of α-Syn aggregates.

This document provides methods and materials related to genetic variations of neurological disorders. For example, this document provides methods for using such genetic variations to assess susceptibility of developing Parkinson's disease.