“Nerve-Driven Immunity: Neurotransmitters and Neuropeptides in the Immune System” summarizes, analyzes and sheds new light on an unrecognized, yet very important role of key neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in the immune system.Each chapter of the book deals with a different neurotransmitter/neuropeptide from the following list: Dopamine, Adrenaline, Noradrenaline, Acetylcholine, Glutamate, GABA, Somatostatin, Neuropeptide Y (NPY), Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), Calcito...

How pathbreaking research into the brain's connections to the immune system offers new hope for treating diseases, injuries, and the effects of aging.PROSE Awards Honorable Mention, Biomedicine & Neuroscience categoryIn the past, the brain was considered an autonomous organ, self-contained and completely separate from the body's immune system. But over the past twenty years, neuroimmunologist Michal Schwartz, together with her research team, not only...

Advances in the study and understanding of myasthenia gravis have led to the need for the publication of this important new edition. The goal of Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders, Second Edition is identical to the first -- to provide the clinician and the scientist with a common resource for understanding this complex disorder. This new edition begins with discussions of neuromuscular junction structure and function and follows with updated chapters covering a wide range of topics, ...

In spite of their relatively low prevalence, systemic vasculitides have been the object of intensive basic and clinical investigations over the last few years. As a consequence, important advancements have been achieved: from updated diagnostic and classification criteria and a more rational nomenclature to the recognition of an expanding spectrum of clinical manifestations and potentially devastating complications; from the recognition of the viral etiology of conditions such as HCV-relat...

This book offers a detailed review of the remarkable advances that have been made in research on the pathogenesis of a number of neuroimmunological diseases, as well as outlining novel treatments including the use of monoclonal antibodies. Written by renowned experts who have made major contributions in the field, such as identifying neuromyelitis optica as an immunopathological clinical condition, identifying the role of ganglioside and ganglioside-complex antibodies in Guillain-Barré syn...

Many of the questions related to the treatment of drug addiction originate from the confusion that still characterizes this issue, even though biology is irreversibly changing our outlook on the physiology and psychopathology of the mind. In fact, prejudices stemming from the archaic concept of mind-body dualism are so difficult to eradicate that even a skilled psychiatrist may find it hard to distinguish a psychiatric symptom from a socially transgressive behavior. The dilemma becomes eve...

These past few years have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of microglia, especially since their roles in the healthy central nervous system (CNS) have started to unravel. These cells were shown to actively maintain health, in concert with neurons and other types of CNS cells, providing further insight into their involvement with diseases. Edited by two pioneers in the field, Marie-Ève Tremblay and Amanda Sierra, Microglia in health and disease aims to share with the bro...

This second edition is a comprehensive study of the viruses that affect the brain and the central nervous system. Along with a focus on the viruses themselves, it addresses the diseases they cause, current treatments and preventive measures. Also discussed are the unique aspects of how viruses cause disease and why certain hosts are more susceptible (e.g., polymorphisms, age, co-morbidities).Because there are 29 cutting edge chapters, written by experts in the fields, Neurotrop...

Immunosenescence is a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to the understanding of immune aging. It addresses the topic from the biological, as well as the psychological, social and behavioral perspectives. It is, thus, a valuable and timely addition to the literature in this area. Contributors include experts in the field, reviewing the state of the art in research.

The third edition of this important, gold-standard title outlines a range of significant advances in the study and understanding of myasthenia gravis. The overarching goal of this new edition is identical to the first and second -- to provide the clinician and the scientist with a common resource for understanding the profound achievements in the clinical, translational, and basic sciences of neuromuscular transmission disorders. In addition to several new authors and an extensive update o...

This book reports the text of the lectures of the 6th International Conference on Sodium Calcium Exchange held in Lacco Ameno in the Island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, from October 1 to October 5, 2011.The present book uncovers the most striking new findings on NCX that emerged since the previous Conference on Sodium Calcium Exchange, such as the structural dissection of the molecular determinants of Ca2+ sensitivity of the exchanger, the epigenetic regulation of nc...