The Female Impact in the World of Neurodegeneration.

Scientific research fuels advances in medicine, but the contributions of individual scientists, especially women, are often underappreciated. The field of neuroscience is vast, with many important gaps in knowledge remaining; thus, it is imperative for women to be able to contribute. A pivotal 2018 study revealed that women were still shockingly underrepresented in academic neurology, representing only 30.8% of academic neurologists (McDermott et al., 2018). Of additional concern, this gender gap grows with increasing academic rank, with only 13.8% of neurology professors being women (McDermott et al., 2018). Although women have faced much adversity in the field of neuroscience, there have been pioneers who have paved a path for other women. Moreover, these women made important contributions that enhanced scientific understanding of neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this paper is to highlight notable, but underappreciated, female neuroscientists and their important contributions to modern understanding of neurodegeneration. Overview of Neurodegeneration The term neurodegeneration is a mixture of two words—“neuro”, which refers to nerve cells and then “degeneration”, which refers to progressive damage. The term in its entirety, “neurodegeneration”, can be used to describe various conditions that result in the loss of nerve structure and function. This deterioration of neural structures results in a loss of cognitive abilities such as memory and decision making (Murman, 2015). Loss of neural function is a key hallmark in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and many rare disorders (Przedborski et al., 2003). An important area of research is exploring the mechanisms that underlie neurodegeneration and plasticity; this includes investigation of proteins implicated in AD (e.g., tau; amyloid-beta) and Parkinson's (e.g., alpha-synuclein). Tau is a protein found in the brain that serves to stabilize microtubules (Gao et al., 2018); tau hyperphosphorylation results in its aggregation into insoluble tangles, a characteristic biomarker of AD. Another characteristic feature of AD is the aggregation of amyloid beta protein into extracellular deposits known as amyloid plaques (Bloom, 2014). Alpha-synuclein is a neuronal protein that normally regulates trafficking of synaptic vesicles for neurotransmitter release. If mutated, the once soluble protein aggregates into insoluble fibrils forming Lewy bodies, a hallmark feature of PD (Stefanis, 2012). Notably, there are currently no known therapies that can prevent or reverse neurodegeneration. Rather, for each particular disease, medications may be available that reduce symptom burden and improve quality of life. Ongoing research efforts focus on the similarities between neurodegenerative these diseases in the hope of 1 day finding a cure. In this manuscript, notable contributions of women to neurodegeneration research are highlighted. These contributions are vast and include discoveries about neuronal pathways, proteins, vascular effects on neurodegeneration, nerve growth factor, and novel imaging techniques. In total, 12 female neuroscientists are celebrated below, namely: Rita Levi-Montalcini, Valina L. Dawson, Eva-Maria Mandelkow, Tara Spires-Jones, Maria Grazia Spillantini, Miia K. Kivipelto, Vivian Tabar, Marian Diamond, Elizabeth Roboz-Einstein, Cecile Vogt-Mugnier, Patricia Goldman-Rakic, and Anita Harding. A timeline of select key advancements in neurodegeneration research is provided below (see Figure 1). Open in a separate window Figure 1 The above timeline outlines a few key events that contributed to knowledge of neurodegeneration. Some of the events shown are the first descriptions of neurodegenerative diseases, others are key discoveries regarding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration, one is a clinical trial.