Neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease) are becoming increasingly problematic to healthcare systems. Therefore, their underlying mechanisms are trending topics of study in medicinal research. Numerous studies have evidenced a strong association between mitochondrial DNA disturbances (e.g. oxidative damage, mutations, and methylation shifts) and the initiation and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this review discusses the risk and development of neurodegenerative diseases in terms of disturbances in mitochondrial DNA and as a part of a complex ecosystem that includes other important mechanisms (e.g. neuroinflammation and the misfolding and aggregation of amyloid-β peptides, α-synuclein, and tau proteins). In addition, the influence of individual mitochondrial DNA haplogroups on the risk and development of neurodegenerative diseases is also described and discussed.

神经退行性疾病（例如阿尔茨海默氏病和帕金森氏病）对医疗保健系统的问题日益严重。因此，它们的潜在机制成为医学研究的趋势。大量研究表明，线粒体DNA紊乱（例如氧化损伤，突变和甲基化转移）与神经退行性疾病的发生和发展之间存在密切的联系。因此，本综述从线粒体DNA的紊乱以及包括其他重要机制（例如神经炎症以及淀粉样β肽，α-突触核蛋白的错误折叠和聚集）在内的复杂生态系统的角度讨论了神经退行性疾病的风险和发展。和tau蛋白）。此外，