Neurological disorders comprise a variety of complex diseases in the central nervous system, which can be roughly classified as neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. The basic and translational research of neurological disorders has been hindered by the difficulty in accessing the pathological center (i.e., the brain) in live patients. The rapid advancement of sequencing and array technologies has made it possible to investigate the disease mechanism and biomarkers from a systems perspective. In this review, recent progresses in the discovery of novel risk genes, treatment targets and peripheral biomarkers employing genomic technologies will be dis-cussed. Our major focus will be on two of the most heavily investigated neurological disorders, namely Alzheimer’s disease and autism spectrum disorder.

In this short review, we have presented a brief overview on major web resources relevant to stem cell research. To facilitate more efficient use of these resources, we have provided a pre-liminary rating based on our own user experience of the overall quality for each resource. We plan to update the information on an annual basis.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains to be a grand challenge for the international commu-nity despite over a century of exploration. A key factor likely accounting for such a situation is the vast heterogeneity in the disease etiology, which involves very complex and divergent pathways. Therefore, intervention strategies shall be tailored for subgroups of AD patients. Both demographic and in-depth information is needed for patient stratification. The demographic information includes primarily APOE genotype, age, gender, education, environmental exposure, life style, and medical history, whereas in-depth information stems from genome sequencing, brain imaging, peripheral biomarkers, and even functional assays on neurons derived from patient-specific induced pluripo-tent cells (iPSCs). Comprehensive information collection, better understanding of the disease mech-anisms, and diversified strategies of drug development would help with more effective intervention in the foreseeable future.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Genes, Bacterial ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; pharmacology ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; genetics ; Mycobacterium ; drug effects ; genetics ; growth & development ; Peptides ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Stress, Physiological ; drug effects