the.com/neurodegeneration
Neurons gradually lose function or die, slowly impairing memory, movement, or thinking.
means The progressive loss of structure or function in neurons, often leading to their death and the decline of brain or nervous system abilities over time.
from Built from Greek 'neuron' (nerve, sinew) plus Latin 'degenerare' — 'to depart from one's kind,' from 'de-' (down from) and 'genus' (birth, race, kind). The medical sense emerged as scientists needed a precise word for nerve cells falling away from their proper, healthy form — decline understood literally as a cell losing its own nature.
- culprit proteins
- misfolded proteins clump and strangle neurons silently
- early warning
- symptoms appear decades after damage actually starts
- universal theme
- alzheimer's, parkinson's, als share collapsing cleanup machinery
- cruel irony
- neurons rarely regenerate once they are lost