Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites that can cause various diseases in humans and animals. The adverse health effects of mycotoxins such as liver failure, immune deficiency, and cancer are well-described. However, growing evidence suggests an additional link between these fungal metabolites and neurodegenerative diseases. Despite the wealth of these initial reports, reliable conclusions are still constrained by limited access to human patients and availability of suitable cell or animal model systems. This review summarizes knowledge on mycotoxins associated with neurodegenerative diseases and the assumed underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. The limitations of the common in vivo and in vitro experiments to identify the role of mycotoxins in neurotoxicity and thereby in neurodegenerative diseases are elucidated and possible future perspectives to further evolve this research field are presented.

中文翻译：

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霉菌毒素在神经退行性疾病中的作用：目前的研究现状和未来的研究前景

霉菌毒素是真菌代谢物，可导致人类和动物的各种疾病。霉菌毒素对健康的不利影响，如肝功能衰竭、免疫缺陷和癌症已得到充分描述。然而，越来越多的证据表明这些真菌代谢物与神经退行性疾病之间存在额外的联系。尽管这些初步报告很丰富，​​但可靠的结论仍然受限于对人类患者的有限访问以及合适的细胞或动物模型系统的可用性。这篇综述总结了与神经退行性疾病相关的霉菌毒素的知识以及假定的潜在病理生理机制。共同点的局限体内和体外阐明了确定霉菌毒素在神经毒性和神经退行性疾病中的作用的实验，并提出了进一步发展该研究领域的可能未来前景。