Abstract
Plants have not traditionally been viewed as models for human disease research. However, by comparing the human genome sequence with the genome sequence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana it has become evident that a large number of genes associated with human diseases are conserved between these two evolutionary distant species. Indeed, numerous proteins linked to neurological disease are conserved in plants and the mode of action of several of these proteins have been deciphered using Arabidopsis as a model. Based on recent research findings it is becoming evident that plants represent a powerful and complementary human disease model that will certainly add value in our quest to define disease pathways and future intervention strategies.