Although normally thought of as a sex hormone, recent research has highlighted the numerous and significant effects that oestrogen has on the CNS, extending far beyond its important reproductive role. It has been shown that oestrogen acts as a neural growth factor with important influences on the survival, plasticity, regeneration and ageing of the mammalian brain. This exciting book brings together leading clinicians and researchers to discuss oestrogen's basic mechanisms of action, the extrahypothalmic brain regions it affects, and its influence on cognitive functions in animals and humans. Finally, recent research on the role of oestrogens in ageing and dementia, including the significance of oestrogen action in Alzheimer's disease, is discussed. The 15 papers contained in this book, together with the extensive discussion sessions that follow them, reveal much new and exciting work in this area, and identify promising new research directions.

Neuronal and Cognitive Effects of Oestrogens No. 230

Science & Math

Novartis Foundation

Symposium, Novartis Foundation

Biological Sciences

wiley

The field of neural transplantation is at a crucial stage in its development, with results of important clinical trials on transplantation in patients with Parkinson's disease expected soon and novel, alternative approaches to fetal transplantation being actively investigated. This timely book brings together leading neuroscientists, clinicians, and cell and developmenta; biologists to discuss the use of neural transplants in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. There is also extensive coverage of the potential alternatives to freshly derived fetal tissue as the source of transplants, such as xenografts, encapsulated cells and immortalized stem cells. With authoritative contributions and lively discussion sections, this book draws together much new and exciting work in this field, and identifies promising new research directions.

Neural Transplantation in Neurodegenerative Disease: Current Status and New Directions No. 231

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Diseases & Physical Ailments

This important and exciting work brings together a high-calibre group of experts to discuss the practical application of genomic information to the development of drugs. Recent technological advances have led to a rapid acceleration in our ability to gather genetic data. The complete genetic sequences are now known for several organisms and accelerated programmes are in place for sequencing many other genomes, including human. The speed with which complete sequencing can be accomplished will continue to increase as new technologies come online. In principle, the scope for developing new diagnostic techniques and drugs is now greater than at any time in human history, but the pathway from genetic information to usable drug is a long and complex one. This major book covers such subjects as the current state of the art in squencing technology, the applications of these new technologies to sequencing the genomes of various organisms, and the challenge of proteomics. Additional contributions deal with legal and ethical implications of the new uses of genetic data, and functional genomics from the point of view of the pharmaceutical industry.

From Genome to Therapy: Integrating New Technologies with Drug Development - No. 229

Venter, J. Craig

Both timely and topical, this book examines the most important aspects of the relationship between alcohol consumption and health. Drawing together much new and exciting work in this area, it reviews this emotive subject from a dispassionate perspective. It will provide a firm base for further research into the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system, and into public health attitudes to what is both a universal pleasure and problem.

Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease - Symposium No. 216

A comprehensive volume examining the fundamental questions raised by reductionists' theory about levels of explanation necessary to understand biological systems. The book evaluates the enormously powerful techniques of molecular biology, and analyzes precisely how molecular information has improved our understanding of fundamental biological processes.

The Limits of Reductionism in Biology - No. 213

Epigenetics pertains to the development of an organism from an undifferential cell, resulting in the successive formation and development of organs and parts that did not pre-exist in the fertilized egg. An exciting and stimulating volume which used the extensive knowledge of basic transcriptional control as a foundation to explore the more complex and interesting level at which genes can be regulated.

Epigenetics - No. 214

This book brings together material on all aspects of immunological tolerance. Basic mechanisms of tolerance are examined in detail, including mechanisms of peripheral T cell tolerance, molecular and genetic mechanisms for maintaining self tolerance, partial T cell activation, and the role of apoptosis in tolerance. Careful consideration is also given to the clinical applications of our understanding of immunological tolerance, with specific chapters dealing with T cell activation during tumour therapy, antiantigen specific immune suppression, tolerance in infectious diseases, tolerance during pregnancy, and tolerance during various autoimmune diseases.

Immunological Tolerance - Symposium No. 215

Gap junctions are key elements in communication between cells in multicellular organisms.  It is clear that their activity is essential for normal embryonic development and normal function in adult organs, although the individual roles of the proteins that form the channels (connexins) are not yet fully understood. The last few years have seen considerable progress in this field and exciting new issues concerning gap junctional intercellular communication are being raised. Perturbed gap junction activity is beginning to be linked to certain pathologies, e.g. mutations in the major connexin of the heart have been found in human patients suffering from visceroatrial heterotaxia syndrome and mutations in the gene encoding another connexin have been found in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This book is the first to highlight the recent progress in understanding gap junction structure and to discuss the specific roles of individual connexins. It features contributions from an interdisciplinary group of experts who review the role of gap junctions in the heart, the retina and lens, the auditory system, the reproductive system, and in cell proliferation and cancer. The book will appeal to people interested in cell and molecular biology, embryonic development, neurobiology, cardiology, gynaecology and oncology.

Gap Junction-Mediated Intercellular Signalling in Health and Disease (Novartis Foundation Symposia)

Genetics and Tuberculosis Chairman: Douglas Young, 1998 More people die each year from tuberculosis than from any other infectious disease, the annual death toll being almost three million (over 95% of which are in developing countries) with eight million new cases being diagnosed every year. It is estimated that one-third of the world's population - nearly two billion people - is now infected, of which 5-10% will develop the disease. In 1993, the World Health Organization recognized tuberculosis as a 'global health emergency', the first time that a disease had ever been marked in this way. The emergence of drug-resistant forms of the disease combined with the paucity of new drugs makes the challenge of understanding and combating the disease especially urgent. This book explores the interplay between the Mycobacterium and its host by focusing on the research currently underway on the sequencing of the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and on the genetic and epidemiological studies of communities exposed to the disease (and on related animal models). From a synthesis of these data, new insights into the understanding of the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of tuberculosis emerge.

Genetics and Tuberculosis (Novartis Foundation Symposia)

Cardew, Gail

Chadwick, Derek J.

Sensory Guidance of Movement Chairman: Mitchell Glickstein, 1998 
In the past few years there has been an increasing recognition of the multiplicity of sensory and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. However, still relatively little is known about the way in which sensory areas are functionally linked to motor areas. On the basis of current anatomical evidence, there are three major pathways involved in this linking. One of these routes is by way of cortico-cortical links, beginning in the primary sensory areas of the cortex, and connecting via a series of synaptic relays to motor or premotor areas. There are also two massive subcortical routes. One of these involves the basal ganglia, the other the cerebellum. This book focuses on current research on the structure and functions of these three pathways and their role in the sensory guidance of movement. Motor psychophysicists have made progress in characterizing the nature of movements such as reaching and grasping, and how such movements are modified by incoming sensory information. Anatomical studies have revealed important new information about the ways in which sensory information is relayed to the basal ganglia and cerebellum. There is now a volume of scanning evidence about the activity of brain areas in humans and recordings from individual neurons in animals during sensory guided movement. This book summarizes much of this recent knowledge and provides a forum for suggesting new avenues for further study. The topics covered also have important implications for understanding the role of these pathways in human disease.

Sensory Guidance of Movement (Novartis Foundation Symposia)

Medical Books

Medicine

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