Advances in Research on Neurodegeneration: Volume 5 (Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementa)

Volume 5 of the series "Advances in Research on Neurodegeneration" is concerned with themes which are currently the focus of intensive research, and in which advances in our understanding of the pathological mechanisms un­ derlying neurodegenerative diseases are expected in the near future. The first section contains five reviews devoted to the various neuroimaging technolo­ gies. The discussion is concerned with the question of whether neuroimaging techniques make it possible to follow the process of degeneration as it occurs, and which methods offer the required sensitivity and quantifiability for this purpose. However, the question needs to be examined of whether, given the physical and chemical limitations of these techniques, even under optimal conditions, anatomical resolution can be improved to the extent that neuro­ degenerative diseases can be diagnosed earlier than currently possible and a confident diagnosis made. The possibilities of using neuroimaging techniques to provide information regarding the effects of neuroprotective or neuroregen­ erative therapeutic strategies, and for correlating the results of neuropsycho­ logical research with imaging data are also discussed. The second section is concerned with the significance of endogenous or exogenous neurotoxins as triggers for neurodegenerative processes that may lead to Parkinsonism. Vulnerability factors, which include such factors as nerve ending sensitivity, the synergistic effects of drugs and the various mechanisms underlying different toxins are discussed. Front Matter....Pages I-VIII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Magnetic Resonance: A multimodal approach to the brain?....Pages 3-8 Measurement of the dopaminergic degeneration in Parkinson’s disease with [ 123 I]β-CIT and SPECT....Pages 9-24 rCBF SPECT in Parkinson’s disease patients with mental dysfunction....Pages 25-30 IBZM- and CIT-SPECT of the dopaminergic system in parkinsonism....Pages 31-37 Pathophysiology of movement disorders studied using PET....Pages 39-46 Contributions of Positron Emission Tomography to elucidating the pathogenesis of Idiopathic Parkinsonism and Dopa Responsive Dystonia....Pages 47-52 Front Matter....Pages 53-53 Mechanism of 6-hydroxydopamine neurotoxicity....Pages 55-66 Induction of mitosis-related genes during dopamine-triggered apoptosis in sympathetic neurons....Pages 67-78 Neuronal vulnerability in Parkinson’s disease....Pages 79-88 N-Methyl-( R )salsolinol as a dopaminergic neurotoxin: From an animal model to an early marker of Parkinson’s disease....Pages 89-105 The halogenated tetrahydro-β-carboline “TaClo”: A progressively-acting neurotoxin....Pages 107-111 Front Matter....Pages 113-113 Developmental and genetic regulation of programmed neuronal death....Pages 115-123 Apoptosis in neurodegenerative disorders....Pages 125-140 Mechanisms of cell death in Alzheimer’s disease....Pages 141-152 Assessment of neurotoxicity and “neuroprotection”....Pages 153-164 Front Matter....Pages 165-165 Update on management and genetics of multiple sclerosis....Pages 167-172 Pathogenesis of immune-mediated demyelination in the CNS....Pages 173-181 Basic mechanisms of brain inflammation....Pages 183-190 Cell death in prion disease....Pages 191-210 Back Matter....Pages 211-216