Description
Humana Press Cell Death and Diseases of the Nervous System 1st Editon 2012 Softbound by Vassilis E. Koliatsos, Rajiv R. Ratan
It is an honor to be asked to write a foreword for this timely book, which assembles contributions from authorities working in the area of pathological nervous system cell death, and has been expertly edited by Vassilis Koliatsos and Rajiv Ratan. That the inap propriate demise of brain or spinal cord cells is at the root of many neurological diseases has been appreciated since the early days of microscopic neuropathology, but it has only been in the last decade or so that pervasive therapeutic nihilism has lifted. In the journey of medical progress, we have reached the shores of a marvelous new land. Three major scientific thrusts in particular have converged to produce the press of ideas covered here. First, burgeoning information about the fundamental nature of central nervous system cell--(;ell signaling, both the fast signaling mediated by conventional neu rotransmitters and the usually slower signaling mediated by neuromodulators and growth factors. A central theme emerging in recent years has been the duality of these signaling mechanisms, which serve the nervous system in health, but which can become the very mediators of neuronal or glial cell degeneration in disease settings. Glutamate-mediated neurotransmission and excitotoxicity have been the defining and best-studied examples, but many other examples have also emerged. Second, delineation of the molecular under pinnings of programmed cell death, and an appreciation of their awesome power. I. Definitions—Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms.- 1. Apoptosis Versus Necrosis: How Valid a Dichotomy for Neurons?.- 2. Asynchronous Death as a Characteristic Feature of Apoptosis.- 3. Free Radicals and Mitochondria Dysfunction in Excitotoxicity and Neurodegenerative Disease.- 4. Calcium and Cell Death.- 5. Proteases: Critical Mediators of Apoptosis.- 6. The Cell Cycle and Neuronal Cell Death.- II. Animal Models.- 7. Neuronal Cell Death in C. elegans.- 8. Cellular Interactions that Regulate Programmed Cell Death in the Developing Vertebrate Nervous System.- 9. Axotomy-Induced Motor Neuron Death.- 10. Excitotoxic Cell Death.- 11. Neurotoxins and Neuronal Death:An Animal Model of Excitotoxicity.- III. Nerve Cell Death in Human Diseases.- 12. DNA Repair and Neurological Diseases.- 13. Cell Death and the Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies.- 14. Viral Encephalitis.- 15. Mechanisms of Cell Injury in Prion Diseases.- 16. Blood Flow, Energy Failure, and Vulnerability to Stroke.- 17. Epilepsy and Cell Death.- 18. Trauma to the Nervous System.- 19. Approaches to the Study of Diseases Involving Oligodendroglial Death.- 20. Motor Neuron Disease.- 21. Cerebellar Degenerations.- 22. Parkinson’s Disease.- 23. Huntington’s Disease and DRPLA: Two Glutamine Repeat Diseases.- 24. Cortical Destruction and Cell Death in Alzheimer’s Disease.- 25. HIV-1 Infection of the CNS: Evidence for Apoptosis of Nerve Cells.- 26. Neurotoxicity of Drugs of Abuse.- 27. Schizophrenia.- IV. Approaches in Treating Nerve Cell Death.- 28. Trophic Factors as Therapeutic Agents for Diseases Characterized by Neuronal Death.- 29. Early Experiences with Trophic Factors as Drugs for Neurological Disease: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor for ALS.- 30. Approaches in Treating Nerve Cell Death with Calcium Chelators.- 31. Antiglutamate Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disease: The Case of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.- 32. Antioxidants and the Treatment of Neurological Disease.