A distinguished panel of internationally recognized neuroscientists comprehensively review the involvement of and changes in glial cells both during the normal aging process and in the major disorders of old age. Topics range from the cellular and molecular changes that occur with aging-especially aging-associated activation of astrocytes and microglia and its relation to neuronal injury and repair-to neuron-glia intercommunication. The contributors show how glial signals may be modulated by hormones, growth factors, neurotransmitters, intracellular metabolism, and intercellular exchanges, as well as by aging of the blood-brain barrier.

A superb source of reference reviews as well as a concise overview of the functional cross-talk between neurons and glial cells, this book also focuses on microglia and inflammation in the aging brain and in neurological disorders. The scientific spectrum covered by this book is of key interest, and is recognized by the scientific community as a major competitive area with critical implications for human health.

Recognition that aging is not the accumulation of disease, but rather comprises fundamental biological processes that are amenable to experimental study, is the basis for the recent growth of experimental biogerontology. As increasingly sophisticated studies provide greater understanding of what occurs in the aging brain and how these changes occur

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the role of neuroglia in neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroglia are the most abundant cells in the nervous system and consist of several distinct cell types, such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes,and microglia. Accumulating evidence suggests that neuroglia participate in the neurodegenerative process, and as such are essential players in a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s. Intended for researchers and students, the book presents recent advances concerning the biology of neuroglia as well as their interaction with neurons during disease progression. In addition, to highlight the function of neuroglia in different types of neurodegenerative disease, it also discusses their mechanisms and effects on protecting or damaging neurons.

Development and Aging in the Nervous System covers the proceedings of a series of symposia by the same title, held at the University of Miami Training Program in Cellular Aging on February 19-20, 1973. This book is composed of 11 chapters that specifically consider aging in its total sense, from embryonic development through senescence of a vital organ system of the body. The introductory chapters review the age changes in the neuronal microenvironment and the regulative mechanism of neuronal death in cell number control in the nervous system. The next chapters deal with the neuronal degeneration in aging mammals, the selected changes in the developing postnatal rat, and the trophic influences in the mammalian central nervous system. These topics are followed by discussions of the genesis of neuronal locus specificity, the vertebrate brain aging, and the neurochemical patterns in the developing and aging brain. The remaining chapters describe the mechanisms of enzymatic differentiation in the brain and in cultured cells and the monoamine metabolism in the aging male mouse. This book will prove useful to development and cell biologists, researchers, and advance students.