Does apoptosis have a role in neurodegeneration?

Cells within the central nervous system die during both acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Since the morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis were first described, neuroscientists have been asking whether this cell death is due to apoptosis and whether elucidating the mechanisms of apoptosis can provide new treatment strategies for intractable diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. [...]clinical symptoms may result from loss of neuronal function rather than apoptotic cell death.