Nevertheless, in certain disease states, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, cells in an advanced state of autophagy are frequently observed. This led to the idea that autophagy is not only an adaptive response to nutrient limitation but also a mechanism for cell suicide (12,15,16). When autophagy involves the total destruction of the cell, it is called autophagic cell death (also known as cytoplasmic cell death or type II cell death) (6).