The role of free radicals and oxidative stress in neurological disorders has only recently been recognized, leaving clinical neurologists to seek in vain for information on the subject even in major textbooks. What published information there is may consist of brief reminders of the possible association of superoxidase dismutase with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and nitrous oxide with migraine. With luck they may also find information on the purported role of free radicals in the...

This first volume in a projected series contains the proceedings of the first of the Keio University International Symposia for Life Sciences and Medicine under the sponsorship of the Keio University Medical Science Fund. As stated in the address by the President of Keio University at the opening of the 1996 symposium, the fund of Dr. Mitsunada Sakaguchi. The Keio was established by the generous donation University International Symposia for Life Sciences and Medicine constitute one of the...

Till recently, mutations in genes were described in textbooks as deletions or point mutations. These mutations can be inherited from a parent or they are de novo alterations. The discovery in 1991 that human disease can be caused by large-scale ex pansion of highly unstable trinucleotide repeats has elucidated a new mutation mechanism, heritable unstable DNA. In the subsequent years more then 10 such disease genes have been identified. All dynamic mutations have been iden tified in neurolo...

Experimental evidence indicated that catecholamines are able to modulate information processing in the amygdaloid complex. The present study provides a detailed documentation of ultrastructural and neurochmical characteristics of dopaminergic, noradrinergic, and adrenergic afferent fibers and of their target structures in central, basal and intercalated amygdaloid nuclei.

Our understanding of biological communication has grown significantly during the past decade. The advances in knowledge about the chemical nature of signals and their corresponding reception by specialized cells have led to identification, characterization, purification, cloning, and expression of specific receptor molecules. While the earlier literature emphasized com partmentalized treatment of informational molecules and their interaction with receptors, the progress in the recent past ...

The subject of optogenetics is comprehensively covered in this book, including physical, chemical, and biological topics of light-sensing proteins and their application in biological systems, particularly in neuroscience and medicine and the related opto-electronics. Optogenetics is a new technology that combines genetics and optics. It enables one to manipulate or measure the function of identified cells or neurons in a tissue by light with an accuracy in the range of milliseconds, even i...

This book reviews the functions and roles of DJ-1 in various oxidative stress-related diseases and applications of DJ-1 and its binding compounds to the diseases. The DJ-1 gene was first found to be a novel oncogene in 1997 and later, in 2003, also found to be a causative gene for a familial form of Parkinson’s disease (PD), park7. The DJ-1 gene is therefore the first gene discovered that is known to cause cancer and neurodenegerative diseases, including PD. The research ...

This book is a major update of novel targets in angiogenesis modulation, including pro- and anti-angiogenesis. There is in-depth coverage of preclinical and clinical methods and models, investigational status, and clinical applications. The impact of nanotechnology in advancing the applications of pro-and anti-angiogenesis strategies is also highlighted, along with stem cell and biotechnologies in research and development of angiogenesis modulating targets.

Müller cells may be used in the future for novel therapeutic strategies to protect neurons against apoptosis (for example, somatic gene therapy), or to differentiate retinal neurons from Müller/stem cells. Meanwhile, a proper understanding of the gliotic responses of Müller cells in the diseased retina, and of their protective vs. detrimental effects, is essential for the development of efficient therapeutic strategies that use and stimulate the neuron-supportive/-protective - and prevent ...

This book offers representative examples from fly and mouse models to illustrate the ongoing success of the synergistic, state-of-the-art strategy, focusing on the ways it enhances our understanding of sensory processing. The authors focus on sensory systems (vision, olfaction), which are particularly powerful models for probing the development, connectivity, and function of neural circuits, to answer this question: How do individual nerve cells functionally cooperate to guide behavioral r...

Selective cytoplasmic organelle and protein targeting has long been thought to constitute the sole determinant of cell polarity and complexity. This view has been changed, however, by the discovery of differential subcellular RNA distribution patterns. Over the past decade it has become clear that selective mRNA sorting and translation contributes to an accumulation of cognate proteins at discrete cellular sites. In this book, various systems are discussed (e.g. Xenopus oocytes, mammalian ...