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Selections review the current knowledge of the supporting structure of the nervous system, the neuroglia, in aging. The contributors (researchers from North America and Europe) discuss the role of glial cells in normal as well as pathological aging, i.e. in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Sections cover cellular and molecular changes of aged and reactive astrocytes; neuron-glia intercommunication; neurotrophins, growth factors, and neurohormones in aging and regeneration; metabolic changes; astrocytes and the blood-brain barrier in aging; and astrocytes in neurodegenerative disorders.Book News, Inc.

Book Info

Univ. of California, Los Angeles Mental Retardation Research Center. Discusses the role of glial cells in normal aging and in pathological aging, i.e, neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Covers cellular and molecular changes of aged and reactive astrocytes, and more. DNLM: Brain--cytology.

Foreword
Preface
Contributors
Pt. I Cellular and Molecular Changes of Aged and Reactive Astrocytes
1 Neuromorphological Changes in Neuronal and Neuroglial Populations of the Cerebral Cortex in the Aging Rat: Neurochemical Correlations 3
2 Diversity in Reactive Astrocytes 17
3 Astrocytic Reaction After Traumatic Brain Injury 35
Pt. II Neuron-Glia Intercommunication
4 Astrocytes In Situ Exhibit Functional Neurotransmitter Receptors 59
5 Glia and Extracellular Space Diffusion Parameters in the Injured and Aging Brain 77
6 Intercellular Diffusional Coupling between Glial Cells in Slices from the Striatum 99
7 Glial Cell Involvement in Brain Repair and the Effects of Aging 113
8 ATP Signaling in Schwann Cells 135
Pt. III Neurotrophins, Growth Factors, and Neurohormones in Aging and Regeneration
9 Gliosis Growth Factors in the Adult and Aging Rat Brain 157
10 Role of Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 in Astrogliosis 179
11 Trophins as Mediators of Astrocyte Effects in the Aging and Regenerating Brain 199
12 Responses in the Basal Forebrain Cholinergic System to Aging 217
13 Effects of Estrogens and Thyroid Hormone on Development and Aging of Astrocytes and Oligodendrocytes 245
Pt. IV Metabolic Changes
14 Neurotoxic Injury and Astrocytes 259
15 Ammonium Ion Transport in Astrocytes: Functional Implications 275
Pt. V Astrocytes and the Blood-Brain Barrier in Aging
16 Molecular Anatomy of the Blood-Brain Barrier in Development and Aging 291
17 The Blood-Brain Barrier in the Aging Brain 305
18 Astrocytes and Barrier-provided Microvasculature in the Developing Brain 321
Pt. VI Astrocytes in Neurodegenerative Diseases
19 Microglial and Astrocytic Reactions in Alzheimer's Disease 339
20 Activated Neuroglia in Alzheimer's Disease 365
21 Reactive Astroglia in the Ataxic Form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Cytology and Organization in the Cerebellar Cortex 375
22 Ischemic Injury, Astrocytes, and the Aging Brain 393
23 Glial-Neuronal Interactions during Oxidative Stress: Implications for Parkinson's Disease 407
24 Astrocytic Changes Associated with Epileptic Seizures 421
25 Synaptic and Neuroglial Pathobiology in Acute and Chronic Neurological Disorders 443
26 Astrocytes and Ammonia in Hepatic Encephalopathy 477
Index 497