Recent Advances on the Role of Neurogenesis in the Adult Brain: Therapeutic Potential in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases

Background: Generation of nascent functional neurons from neural stem cells in the adult brain has recently become largely accepted by the neuroscience community. In adult mammals including humans, the process of neurogenesis has been well documented in two brain regions; the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Method: Some evidence has indicated neurogenesis in other regions of the adult mammalian brain such as the neocortex, cerebellum, striatum, amygdala and hypothalamus. These discoveries question a long standing dogma on nervous system regeneration and provide medical science with potential new strategies to harness the process of neurogenesis for treating neurological disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases. Conclusion: In this current review, we address the most recent advances on the role of neurogenesis in the adult brain and therapeutic potential in the two most common neurodegenerative disorders, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.