Alzheimer's Disease | Parkinson's Disease | Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis | Frontotemporal Dementia | Progressive Supranuclear Palsy | Multiple System Atrophy | Tau Protein | Alpha-Synuclein | TDP-43 | Neuroinflammation | Oxidative Stress | Autophagy Dysfunction | Therapeutics
This page is NeuroWiki's invention-lab hub for new therapeutic concepts built from existing mechanistic evidence in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), and aging-linked proteinopathy. The goal is to prioritize ideas that can be operationalized into near-term translational programs, rather than just cataloging speculative hypotheses.
The ranking rubric uses 10 dimensions (0-10 each, maximum 100): Novelty, Mechanistic Rationale, Root-Cause Coverage, Delivery Feasibility, Safety Plausibility, Combinability, Biomarker Availability, De-risking Path, Multi-disease Potential, and Patient Impact.
Only fully developed ideas with dedicated pages are ranked. Ideas without pages are listed in the Placeholder section below.
| Rank | Idea | Category | AD | PD | ALS | FTD | PSP | MSA | Aging | Total Score |
| 76 | Condensate Biology Modulation Therapy | Novel target (LLPS) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 76 |
| 74 | Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Inhibition Therapy | Novel target (FAK signaling) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 74 |
| 75 | HIF-1α Stabilization Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (hypoxia response) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 75 |
| 76 | Ketone Body Therapeutic Strategy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (metabolic therapy) | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 81 |
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| 1 | TDP-43 Splicing Modulation Therapy | Novel target (splicing) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 80 |
| 2 | SIRT1 Activation + NAD+ Precursor Combination Therapy | Combination logic | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 85 |
| 112 | Perivascular Space Drainage Enhancement Therapy | Novel target (glymphatic-lymphatic) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 85 |
| 86 | Calcium Homeostasis Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (calcium homeostasis) | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 79 |
| 3 | C9orf72 RNA-Targeting for DPR Reduction | Payload design (ASO/RNAi) | 3 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 84 |
| 4 | NfL-Guided Neuroprotection Threshold | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 84 |
| 5 | Intranasal Insulin + GLP-1 Combination Therapy | Combination logic + repurposing | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 82 |
| 6 | Microglia-state editing via TREM2-LXR pulse program | Novel target + biomarker-driven | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 82 |
| 7 | GBA1 Gaucher Disease Modulator for Parkinson's Disease | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 80 |
| 8 | Astrocyte-to-Neuron Direct Reprogramming Therapy | Regeneration | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 80 |
| 9 | Mitophagy gate therapy: PINK1/Parkin plus lysosomal TFEB priming | Combination logic | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 80 |
| 10 | SARM1 NADase Inhibition for Axonal Preservation | Novel target | 3 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 80 |
| 11 | VPS35 Retromer Stabilizer for Lysosomal Rescue | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 80 |
| 12 | p-Tau217 Adaptive Dosing Protocol | Biomarker-driven | 9 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 80 |
| 13 | NUS1 CoQ10 Pathway Modulation for Parkinson's Disease | Novel target | 6 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 79 |
| 14 | CB1 Receptor Endocannabinoid Modulation Therapy | Novel target + biomarker-driven | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 79 |
| 15 | Tau-PROTAC Heterobifunctional Degrader | Payload design | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 79 |
| 16 | ESCRT-III Neuroprotection Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (ESCRT-III/membrane scission) | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 79 |
| 16 | Sigma-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy | Novel target + delivery | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 79 |
| 17 | Complement Pathway Inhibition Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (complement cascade) | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 79 |
| 18 | Ferroptosis Inhibition Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 18 | CRMP2 Phosphorylation State Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (cytoskeletal/transport) | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 77 |
| 19 | HDAC6 Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 19 | Neurogranin-Synapse Rescue Cascade | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 78 |
| 20 | Proteostasis Triad Pulses: ISR + Autophagy + Chaperone Induction | Combination logic | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 21 | Mitochondrial Dynamics Modulation Therapy (DRP1/Miro1) | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 22 | Tau-seed interception using conformer-selective extracellular traps | Payload design | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 78 |
| 23 | ULK1/2 Kinase Modulation for Mitophagy Induction | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 24 | CSPG-PNN Modulation for Synaptic Plasticity Enhancement | Regeneration & reversal | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 25 | YKL-40 Anti-Inflammatory Cycling | Biomarker-driven | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 26 | cGAS-STING Pathway Inhibition | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 77 |
| 27 | CD38 Inhibition + NAD+ Precursor Synergy | Combination logic | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 77 |
| 28 | AAV-Delivered RNA Targeting Therapy | Payload design (AAV+RNA) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 77 |
| 29 | REST Preservation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 77 |
| 30 | Adenine Base Editing of APOE4 to APOE3 | Payload design (base editing) | 9 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 76 |
| 31 | VCP Proteostasis Modulation for ALS/FTD | Novel target | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 76 |
| 32 | Astrocyte glutamate-buffer rescue with EAAT2 transcription reboot | Novel target | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 76 |
| 33 | CRISPRi epigenetic silencing of SNCA | Payload design (epigenetic editor) | 3 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 76 |
| 34 | LRRK2 Inhibitor Therapy | Novel target | 2 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 76 |
| 35 | Lipophagy Activation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 76 |
| 36 | Molecular glue for TDP-43 aggregate clearance | Payload design (molecular glue) | 5 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 76 |
| 37 | sTREM2-Modulated Microglial Therapy | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 76 |
| 103 | Nucleocytoplasmic Transport Modulation Therapy for ALS/FTD | Novel target (NCT) | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 38 | ATTEC Autophagy-Targeting Chimera for Neurodegeneration | Payload design (ATTEC) | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 75 |
| 39 | Prodromal Resilience Package for Genetically High-Risk Cohorts | Prevention/resilience | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 75 |
| 40 | Astrocytic Mitochondrial Transfer + Metabolic Copacking | Combination logic | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 75 |
| 41 | GPNMB Modulation for Lipid-Laden Microglia Rescue | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 75 |
| 42 | Synthetic Gene Circuit for Feedback-Controlled GDNF | Payload design (gene circuit) | 3 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 75 |
| 43 | USP13 Inhibitor for Mitophagy and Synaptic Proteostasis | Novel target | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 75 |
| 44 | Gut-Microbiome-Targeted Therapeutic | Novel target + biomarker-driven | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 74 |
| 45 | NLRP3-coupled senomorphic cycling therapy | Repurposing + combination | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 74 |
| 46 | Senolytic Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 74 |
| 47 | UFM1ylation Modulation for Proteostasis Restoration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 74 |
| 48 | mRNA-encoded Intrabody for Alpha-Synuclein | Payload design (mRNA) | 3 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 74 |
| 49 | UFM1ylation Modulation for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 74 |
| 50 | HSP90 Co-chaperone CDC37 Modulation | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 73 |
| 51 | Autophagy-Proteostasis Dual Activation Therapy | Combination logic | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 73 |
| 52 | FXR Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 73 |
| 53 | RIPK1-TAK1 Interaction Inhibitor | Novel target (PPI) | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 54 | BBB-Transcytosis Shuttle for CNS PROTAC Delivery | Delivery innovation | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 55 | Engineered iPSC-Microglia Cell Therapy | Payload design (cell therapy) | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 72 |
| 56 | Synapse-resilience circuit: BDNF plus sleep-glymphatic entrainment | Regeneration + prevention | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 71 |
| 57 | LRRK2 Kinase Modulation for Pre-symptomatic PD Prevention | Prevention/resilience | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 69 |
| 58 | GBA1 Enzyme Enhancement for Pre-symptomatic PD Prevention | Prevention/resilience | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 72 |
| 59 | Circadian Entrainment for Neurodegeneration Prevention | Prevention/resilience | 6 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 78 |
| 60 | Microbiome-Guided Prevention Bundle | Prevention/resilience | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 80 |
| 61 | Senolytic Prevention Protocol | Prevention/resilience | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 74 |
| 62 | Synaptic Resilience Enhancement | Prevention/resilience | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 82 |
| 63 | circRNA Dysfunction Restoration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 71 |
| 64 | Mitochondrial NAD Redox Swing Protocol | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 70 |
| 65 | TMEM175 Lysosomal K+ Channel Modulation | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 74 |
| 66 | NRF2 Activator Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 82 |
| 67 | Klotho Anti-Aging Therapy: Multi-Modal Neuroprotection | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 76 |
| 68 | GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy | Repurposing + novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 69 | GSK-3 Inhibitor Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 70 | Sigma-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 76 |
| 71 | Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonist Therapy | Repurposing | 8 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 75 |
| 72 | TAM Receptor Modulation Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 73 |
| 73 | Simufilam (Aβ Oligomer Antagonist) Therapy | Novel target | 9 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 73 |
| 74 | HSP70 Inducer Therapies | Novel target | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 75 | PARP Inhibitor Therapy | Repurposing | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 76 | CX3CR1 Modulation Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 71 |
| 77 | SOD1 Targeted RNA Silencing Therapy for ALS | Payload design (ASO/RNAi) | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 72 |
| 78 | TGF-β Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 78 | Tau PET-Guided Tau Immunotherapy | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 78 |
| 79 | Epigenetic Clock Reversal Therapy for Neurodegeneration Prevention | Prevention/resilience | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 79 |
| 80 | Alpha-Synuclein RT-QuIC-Guided Therapy | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 77 |
| 81 | GFAP-Guided Astrocyte Modulation Therapy | Biomarker-driven | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 77 |
| 82 | DNA Damage Repair Therapy — 8-OHdG Guided | Biomarker-driven | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 76 |
| 83 | CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 Ratio-Guided Anti-Amyloid Therapy | Biomarker-driven | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 80 |
| 84 | Biomarker-Guided Therapy Overview | Framework | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 85 | AMPK Agonist Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 79 |
| 86 | Wnt Pathway Modulation for Synaptic Resilience | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 77 |
| 86 | GABA Receptor Modulation Therapy | Novel target | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 78 |
| 113 | AAV Capsid Engineering for CNS-Targeted Neurodegeneration Therapy | Delivery innovation (capsid) | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 82 |
| 87 | CX3CR1 Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (neuroinflammation) | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 75 |
| 88 | Perivascular Macrophage Neuroprotection Therapy | Delivery Innovation | 9 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 74 |
| 89 | sGC Stimulator Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (cGMP signaling) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 74 |
| 89 | ROCK Inhibitor Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (cytoskeleton) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| 90 | 4R-Tau Targeting Therapy for PSP | Novel target (4R-tauopathy) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 79 |
| 91 | Brainstem Circuit Modulation Therapy for PSP | Novel target (brainstem circuits) | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 75 |
| 92 | Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibition Therapy for MSA | Novel target (α-syn aggregation) | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 76 |
| 93 | MSA Combination Therapy | Combination logic | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 77 |
| 94 | Cerebellar Circuit Protection Therapy for MSA | Novel target (cerebellar circuits) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 74 |
| 95 | Autonomic Dysfunction Targeting Therapy for MSA | Novel target (autonomic) | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 72 |
| 96 | PSP Combination Therapy | Combination logic | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 77 |
| 97 | Progranulin Restoration Therapy for FTD | Novel target (gene therapy) | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 80 |
| 98 | Tau Propagation Blocker Therapy for PSP | Payload design (propagation) | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 75 |
| 99 | Hippo Pathway Modulation Therapy for CBS | Novel target (Hippo pathway) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 76 |
| 100 | Huntington's Disease Gene Silencing Therapy | Payload design (ASO/RNAi) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 78 |
| 101 | DLB Cholinergic Circuit Modulation Therapy | Novel target (cholinergic) | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 76 |
| 102 | Oligodendrocyte Protection Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (oligodendrocyte) | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 78 |
| 103 | CD33 Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (TREM2-independent) | 9 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 74 |
| 104 | Checkpoint Kinase Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (DNA damage checkpoint) | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 72 |
| 105 | Neuronal Calcium Sensor Modulation Therapy | Novel target (calcium sensor) | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 76 |
| 106 | Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Therapy | Novel target (vascular Aβ) | 8 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 71 |
| 107 | Vascular Dementia Combination Therapy | Combination logic | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 74 |
| 108 | IRAK4 Kinase Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (TLR/IL-1R signaling) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 78 |
| 109 | iPSC-Derived Glial Progenitor Cell Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Cell therapy (glial) | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 74 |
| 110 | P2X4/P2X7 Dual Receptor Modulation Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (purinergic) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 75 |
| 111 | AAV Serotype CNS Delivery Optimization Therapy | Delivery Innovation | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 76 |
| 111 | AAV Serotype CNS Delivery Optimization Therapy | Delivery Innovation | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 77 |
| 112 | Perivascular Space Drainage Enhancement Therapy | Novel target (glymphatic-lymphatic) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 85 |
| 118 | Axonal Transport Rescue Therapy for Neurodegeneration | Novel target (kinesin-dynein) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 79 |
The following ideas are placeholders in development. Once complete, they may be added to the ranked table:
Completed from Placeholders (added to ranked table):
The following ideas are specifically relevant to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a 4R-tauopathy characterized by subcortical tau pathology, brainstem circuit dysfunction, and oculomotor impairment:
Completed from Placeholders (added to ranked table):
Completed from Placeholders (added to ranked table):
The following ideas are specifically relevant to Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), an α-synucleinopathy characterized by autonomic failure, cerebellar ataxia, and parkinsonism.
Completed from Placeholders (added to ranked table):
bfe67bb53c3c532ef4237fa3323691ae27404769
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy is a 4R-tauopathy characterized by:
| Idea | AD | PD | ALS | FTD | PSP | CBS | MSA | Aging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microglia-state editing | Core amyloid/tau inflammation amplifier | Immune phenotype modulation in synucleinopathy | Secondary neuroinflammatory control | Strong in microglia-linked FTD variants | Subcortical neuroinflammation in brainstem nuclei | Cortical/subcortical inflammation in CBS | MSA placeholder | Inflammaging mitigation |
| Mitophagy gate therapy | Mitochondrial rescue in vulnerable cortical neurons | Core mechanism in Parkin/PINK1 PD | Motor neuron mitostasis support | Fits progranulin/lysosome biology | Mitochondrial dysfunction in subcortical structures | MSA placeholder | High relevance to age-related mitochondrial drift | |
| Tau-seed interception | Directly addresses spread in AD tau stages | Limited direct use | Low | High value in PSP/CBD/FTD-tau | Core mechanism - 4R-tau propagation in subcortical networks | MSA placeholder | Moderate | |
| EAAT2 reboot | Excitotoxicity damping in AD and vascular overlap | Network-stability support | Strong rationale in ALS glutamate stress | Moderate | Network stability in basal ganglia output | MSA placeholder | Moderate | |
| NLRP3-coupled senomorphic cycling | Strong in AD microglial activation | Moderate in PD neuroinflammation | Emerging | Emerging | Brainstem microglial activation in PSP progression | MSA placeholder | Strong inflammaging fit | |
| BBB shuttle PROTAC delivery | Enables CNS target-space expansion | Enables kinase/aggregation degraders | Potential for RNA-binding protein targets | Potential | 4R-tau degradation in subcortical targets | MSA placeholder | Platform-level | |
| Synapse-resilience circuit | High synaptic failure relevance | Motor-cognitive network resilience | Limited/moderate | Moderate | Oculomotor and gait circuit resilience | MSA placeholder | High preventive potential | |
| NAD redox swing protocol | Supports metabolic decline correction | Strong mitochondrial angle | Moderate | Moderate | Subcortical metabolic support | MSA placeholder | High | |
| Proteostasis triad pulses | High for tau/amyloid proteostasis | High for alpha-syn handling | High for TDP-43/FUS stress | High for tau/TDP-43 | Core - 4R-tau proteostasis | MSA placeholder | Moderate | |
| Prodromal resilience package | APOE-focused prevention | LRRK2/GBA1 prodromal windows | SOD1/C9orf72 surveillance use-case | MAPT/GRN/TMEM106B risk stratification | MAPT mutations and prodromal PSP surveillance | MSA placeholder | Very high | |
| Tau-PROTAC degrader | Core tau pathology clearance | Limited | Low | High in FTD-tau/PSP/CBD | Core - 4R-tau degradation | MSA placeholder | Moderate | |
| mRNA intrabody α-syn | Low | Core Lewy pathology clearance | Low | Low | Low | MSA placeholder | Low | |
| CRISPRi SNCA silencing | Low | Core gene dosage reduction | Low | Low | Low | MSA placeholder | Moderate | |
| Molecular glue TDP-43 | AD comorbidity (30-57%) | Low | Core ALS pathology (97%) | Core FTD-TDP (~50%) | Less relevant (4R-tau driven) | MSA placeholder | LATE (>20% aged) | |
| Gene circuit GDNF | Low | Core DA neuron rescue | Low | Low | PPN circuit modulation for gaze dysfunction | MSA placeholder | DA decline mitigation | |
| iPSC-microglia therapy | Core clearance restoration | Neuroinflammation control | C9orf72 microglial rescue | Microglial dysfunction | Subcortical microglial activation control | MSA placeholder | Inflammaging reversal | |
| APOE4 base editing | Core genetic risk elimination | Low | Low | Low | Low | MSA placeholder | Cognitive preservation | |
| p-Tau217 Adaptive Dosing | Core AD tau tracking | Limited | Limited | Emerging | Emerging (p-tau181 more relevant) | MSA placeholder | Limited | |
| NfL-Guided Neuroprotection | Universal neurodegeneration gate | Strong | Strong | Strong | Strong (progression marker) | Strong | High | |
| sTREM2 Microglial Modulation | AD microglia targeting | Strong | Emerging | Emerging | Emerging | MSA placeholder | Low | |
| Neurogranin Synapse Rescue | Synaptic integrity restoration | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate (subcortical synaptic loss) | Moderate | Low | |
| YKL-40 Anti-inflammatory Cycling | Chronic inflammation targeting | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | |
| VPS35 retromer stabilizer | Lysosomal rescue in neurons | Strong in AD/PD | Strong in PD (PINK1/Parkin axis) | Moderate | Fits progranulin/lysosome | Moderate | Age-related trafficking decline | |
| GPNMB modulation | Lipid-laden microglia rescue | Strong in AD (DAM) | Strong in PD/GBA-PD | Emerging | Emerging | Moderate | Inflammaging | |
| USP13 inhibition | Mitophagy enhancement | Moderate | Strong (PINK1/Parkin) | Strong (TDP-43) | Moderate | Moderate | Mitochondrial aging | |
| SARM1 NADase inhibition | Low-Medium (axonal transport deficits) | High (nigrostriatal axon preservation) | Core (motor axon degeneration) | Low | Moderate (brainstem axon involvement) | MSA placeholder | Axonal aging | |
| cGAS-STING inhibition | Tau-induced nuclear envelope disruption; mtDNA leakage | mtDNA accumulation from mitophagy failure | TBK1 LOF mutations cause ALS/FTD; TDP-43 activates cGAS | Tau/TDP-43 converge on cytoplasmic DNA | Tau-driven cGAS activation in subcortical neurons | MSA placeholder | Age-related mtDNA accumulation | |
| Klotho Therapy | Strong (cognitive preservation, amyloid reduction) | Strong (dopaminergic neuron protection) | Moderate (motor neuron protection) | Emerging | Emerging (brainstem protection) | MSA placeholder | Core anti-aging mechanism, cognitive preservation with age | |
| C9orf72 RNA-targeting | Low (if TDP-43 pathology present) | Low | Core genetic cause (~40% familial ALS) | Core genetic cause (~25% FTD) | Low | MSA placeholder | Moderate (repeat instability with age) | |
| UFM1ylation modulation | High (proteostasis restoration, Aβ/tau clearance) | High (mitochondrial function in PD) | Moderate (TDP-43 proteostasis) | Moderate | High (4R-tau proteostasis) | MSA placeholder | Core anti-aging mechanism, proteostasis decline with age |
| 4R-Tau Targeting Approaches | PSP Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| MAPT exon 10 splicing modulators | Direct 4R-tau reduction | 78 |
| 4R-tau aggregation inhibitors | Block 4R-tau oligomerization | 75 |
| Tau PET ligands for PSP | Diagnostic and monitoring biomarkers | 72 |
| Anti-tau immunotherapy (4R-selective) | Antibody-mediated tau clearance | 74 |
| Brainstem Circuit Approaches | PSP Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation | Gaze and gait dysfunction | 72 |
| GABAergic enhancement in basal ganglia | Reduce excessive inhibition | 70 |
| Deep brain stimulation optimization | Adaptive stimulation protocols | 73 |
| Oculomotor circuit restoration | Vertical gaze improvement | 71 |
| Combination Approaches | PSP Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tau reduction + neuroinflammation | Multi-target synergy | 77 |
| Tau + brainstem circuit support | Address pathology + symptoms | 76 |
| Biomarker-guided adaptive therapy | p-tau181/NfL-guided dosing | 75 |
| Alpha-Synuclein Targeting Approaches | MSA Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha-synuclein aggregation inhibitors | Core mechanism - block oligomerization | 76 |
| Anti-α-syn immunotherapy | Antibody-mediated clearance | 73 |
| SNCA gene silencing (CRISPRi/ASO) | Reduce production at source | 75 |
| Conformer-selective α-syn extracellular traps | Intercept spreading seeds | 74 |
| Autonomic Dysfunction Targeting | MSA Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Norepinephrine restoration therapy | Orthostatic hypotension management | 72 |
| Bladder dysfunction targeting | Urinary urgency/incontinence | 70 |
| Gastrointestinal motility agents | Dysphagia and GI dysmotility | 71 |
| Cardiovascular autonomic modulation | Baroreflex sensitivity enhancement | 73 |
| Cerebellar Circuit Protection | MSA Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Purkinje cell protection strategies | Cerebellar ataxia target | 74 |
| GABAergic enhancement in cerebellar nuclei | Reduce inhibitory-excitatory imbalance | 72 |
| Olivary nucleus targeting | Tremor and dysmetria control | 71 |
| Cerebellar oxidative stress mitigation | Mitochondrial protection in Purkinje cells | 73 |
| Combination Approaches | MSA Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| α-syn reduction + autonomic support | Multi-target synergy | 77 |
| α-syn + cerebellar circuit protection | Address pathology + symptoms | 76 |
| Biomarker-guided adaptive therapy | NfL/α-syn oligomer-guided dosing | 75 |
| Hippo Pathway Approaches | CBS Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| YAP/TAZ nuclear translocation activators | Core - restore pro-survival signaling | 76 |
| MST1/2 kinase inhibitors | Block apoptotic signaling | 74 |
| TEAD transcriptional agonists | Bypass YAP/TAZ defects | 72 |
| Tau-YAP dissociation agents | Block sequestration | 73 |
| Tau-Targeting + Hippo Combination | CBS Relevance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-tau + Hippo pathway modulation | Multi-target synergy | 78 |
| Tau immunotherapy + neuronal survival | Address pathology + symptoms | 77 |
| Biomarker-guided adaptive therapy | NfL/p-tau-guided dosing | 75 |
Why now: genetics and human biomarker work support microglial state transitions as causal amplifiers in AD and FTD.[2][3] Instead of chronic immune suppression, this concept applies periodic agonist/antagonist cycling tuned to fluid biomarker trajectories.
Mechanistic stack: TREM2 signaling reinforcement, lipid-handling reset via LXR-linked networks, and anti-inflammatory phase locking with NLRP3 inflammasome.[4][5]
De-risking path: iPSC microglia co-culture with tau-seeded neurons, then humanized mouse validation with CSF GFAP and NfL as go/no-go readouts.
Why now: mitochondrial dysfunction and lysosomal failure converge across AD, PD, and ALS.[6][7]
Mechanistic stack: controlled mitophagy induction through PINK1/Parkin plus intermittent TFEB activation to avoid stalled autophagic flux.[8][9]
De-risking path: patient-derived neurons with mitochondrial stress signatures, then adaptive dose design using plasma metabolomic stress panels and digital motor endpoints.
Why now: extracellular tau seeds are increasingly measurable and linked to spread kinetics in primary tauopathies and AD.[10][11]
Mechanistic stack: engineered binders selective for pathogenic seed conformers deployed in intrathecal pulse dosing; co-use with intracellular anti-aggregation support.
De-risking path: seed-amplification assays, serial CSF phospho-tau species, and longitudinal PSP / CBD progression markers.
Why now: excitotoxic stress remains a common terminal pathway, especially in ALS and mixed AD/vascular states.[12][13]
Mechanistic stack: selective transcriptional upregulation of EAAT2/GLT-1 in astrocytes, paired with inflammatory-noise reduction and synaptic metabolic support.
De-risking path: human astrocyte-neuron systems measuring glutamate clearance kinetics, network hyperexcitability, and injury biomarkers.
Why now: perpetual blockade risks immune fragility; senomorphic periodic schedules could reduce inflammatory burden while preserving host defense.[14][15]
Mechanistic stack: staged suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome with recovery windows, synchronized to senescence-associated cytokine profiles. Novel senomorphic cycling paradigm uses biomarker-guided intermittent dosing rather than continuous blockade.
De-risking path: short-cycle biomarker trials in enriched inflammatory phenotypes with strict infection monitoring. Phase 1 biomarker profiling → Phase 2 dose-finding → Phase 3 efficacy signal.
Why now: target classes implicated in neurodegeneration are often intracellular and historically undruggable with standard CNS pharmacology.[16][17]
Mechanistic stack: receptor-mediated endothelial transport and controlled intracellular release of degraders targeting tau modifiers, alpha-syn processing factors, and kinase hubs.
De-risking path: non-human primate PK/PD with CSF target engagement assays and safety-focused cytokine panels.
Why now: synaptic failure and impaired glymphatic clearance jointly track cognitive decline in AD and prodromal neurodegeneration.[18][19]
Mechanistic stack: BDNF therapy and sleep architecture optimization to increase restorative oscillations and waste clearance.
De-risking path: EEG-derived slow-wave metrics, memory composites, and fluid markers integrated in adaptive treatment windows.
Why now: chronic continuous NAD-precursor use may blunt adaptive stress biology; temporal scheduling may better restore homeostasis.[20][21]
Mechanistic stack: phased NAD precursors, exercise-synchronized oxidation windows, and intermittent mitochondrial hormesis.
De-risking path: repeated NAD metabolomics, mitochondrial respiration signatures, and orthostatic/sleep safety surveillance.
Why now: single-pathway interventions often fail because aggregate-prone proteins exploit parallel proteostasis bottlenecks.[22][23]
Mechanistic stack: timed ISR dampening, autophagic throughput enhancement, and chaperone induction to move misfolded protein load across clearance checkpoints.
De-risking path: multiplex proteostasis biomarker panels and stage-specific dosing by disease phenotype.
Why now: biomarker-positive pre-symptomatic windows are now identifiable in several inherited risk groups.[24][25]
Mechanistic stack: risk-genotype stratification, targeted lifestyle and pharmacologic micro-interventions, and dynamic biomarker gates before irreversible neuronal loss.
De-risking path: pragmatic platform trial design with adaptive enrollment, digital phenotyping, and pre-specified futility criteria.
Scores were assigned by integrating: genetic support, disease-mechanism consistency, translational tractability, biomarker observability, and expected patient-level effect if the idea works as intended. Ranking favors ideas that are both mechanistically deep and testable in realistic near-term pipelines.
The current Novel Therapy Index covers Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS, FTD, PSP, and Aging. The following neurodegenerative diseases are not yet represented in the disease coverage matrix:
The following therapeutic categories lack dedicated ranked pages:
bfe67bb53c3c532ef4237fa3323691ae27404769
The following mechanisms have placeholder mentions but lack full development:
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