A degenerative disease, also called neurodegenerative disease, is a disease in which the function or structure of the affected tissues

Biological tissue

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

 or organs

Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...

 will progressively deteriorate over time, whether due to normal bodily wear or lifestyle choices such as exercise or eating habits. Degenerative diseases are often contrasted with infectious diseases.

Examples of degenerative diseases

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
  
   (ALS), a.k.a., Lou Gehrig's Disease
• Alzheimer's disease
  Alzheimer's disease
  Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
  
  
• Parkinson's Disease
  Parkinson's disease
  Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
  
  
• Multiple system atrophy
  Multiple system atrophy
  Multiple system atrophy is a degenerative neurological disorder. MSA is associated with the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. This cell degeneration causes problems with movement, balance and other autonomic functions of the body such as bladder control or blood pressure...
  
  
• Niemann Pick disease
• Atherosclerosis
  Atherosclerosis
  Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
  
  
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
  Progressive supranuclear palsy
  Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
  
  
• Cancer
  Cancer
  Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
  
  
• Tay-Sachs Disease
  Tay-Sachs disease
  Tay–Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder...
  
  
• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
  Heart disease
  Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
  
  
• Keratoconus
  Keratoconus
  Keratoconus , is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve....
  
  
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  Inflammatory bowel disease
  In medicine, inflammatory bowel disease is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine. The major types of IBD are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.-Classification:...
  
   (IBD)
• Prostatitis
  Prostatitis
  Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, in men. A prostatitis diagnosis is assigned at 8% of all urologist and 1% of all primary care physician visits in the United States.-Classification:...
  
  
• Osteoarthritis
  Arthritis
  Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
  
  
• Osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
  
  
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
  Rheumatoid arthritis
  Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
  
  
• Huntington's Disease
  Huntington's disease
  Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
  
  
• Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
  Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
  Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease found in individuals who have been subjected to multiple concussions and other forms of head injury. A variant of the condition, dementia pugilistica, is primarily associated with boxing...
  
  

See also

• Aging
• Disease
  Disease
  A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
  
  
• Life extension
  Life extension
  Life extension science, also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, is the study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan...
  
  
• Neurodegeneration
  Neurodegeneration
  Neurodegeneration is the umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons. Many neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s occur as a result of neurodegenerative processes. As research progresses, many...
  
  
• Senescence
  Senescence
  Senescence or biological aging is the change in the biology of an organism as it ages after its maturity. Such changes range from those affecting its cells and their function to those affecting the whole organism...
  
  
• Progressive disease
  Progressive disease
  Progressive disease is a physical ailment whose natural course in most cases is the worsening, growth, or spread of the disease. This may happen until death, serious debility, or organ failure occurs. Though the time distinctions are imprecise, diseases can be rapidly progressive or slowly...