2nd Edition

Cytokines and the CNS

Edited By Richard M. Ransohoff, Etty N. Benveniste Copyright 2006
    384 Pages
    by CRC Press

    382 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Provides Insight into How Cytokine Action Impacts the Physiology and Pathology of the CNS.

    As with the first edition of Cytokines and the CNS, this completely updated and revised edition introduces neurobiologists to cytokine biology and immunologists to the unique functions of cytokines in CNS physiology. The dramatically accelerating interest in cytokines and cytokine/chemokine signaling over the past several years has encouraged an explosion of literature on cytokines. The similarity between factors involved in inflammation or immunity, and those implicated in neural development, physiology, and repair has become so apparent that familiarity with cytokines must now be considered an essential element in the neurobiologist’s cognitive tool-kit. Conversely, for immunobiologists, the concepts elaborated by neurobiologists to understand developmental patterning and networked organ function continue to evolve in such a way that comprehension of cytokine action in the CNS can only enhance a further understanding of immune system function. 

    Cytokines and the CNS, Second Edition is patterned after the first edition; however, the wealth of knowledge now available adds a tremendous amount of insight and new implications. To guarantee a fresh perspective, the editors made a conscious choice to utilize an entirely new set of contributors, all experts in various aspects of cytokine research.

    Cytokines and the CNS, Second Edition starts with a chapter on the CNS, focusing on pathological reactions to insult. Next, come three chapters on cytokine biology, followed by four chapters that integrate cytokine biology into basic CNS processes (development; inflammation; immunity; degeneration/repair), after which five chapters apply this body of knowledge to disease or pathology. The book closes with a look at the application of cytokine biology to the treatment of disease, a brand new area of research. 

    The CNS: Cells, Tissues and Reactions to Insult. Cytokines – Wherefrom and Whereto. Cytokine Receptors. Cytokines and Signaling. Inflammatory Complexities in the CNS: New Insights into the Effects of Intracellular Redox State and Viral Infection in Modulating the Biology of Oligodendrocytes and Their Precursor Cells. Cytokines and Development of the Nervous System. Cytokines and CNS Inflammation. Cytokines and Immune Regulation in the Nervous System. Cytokines and Neurodegeneration. Cytokine Expression and Signaling in Brain Tumors. Cytokines and Defense Pathology of the CNS. Cytokines and Multiple Sclerosis. Cytokines in Brain Trauma and Spinal Cord Injury. Cytokine-Based Therapeutics for Intrinsic CNS Disease Processes.

    Biography

    Richard M. Ransohoff, Etty N. Benveniste