Neurobiology of Body Fluid Homeostasis


Book Description

A timely symposium entitled Body-Fluid Homeostasis: Transduction and Integration was held at Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil in 2011. This meeting was convened as an official satellite of a joint gathering of the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN) and the American Autonomic Society (AAS) held in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro. Broad international participation at this event generated stimulating discussion among the invited speakers, leading to the publication of Neurobiology of Body Fluid Homeostasis: Transduction and Integration. Drawn from the proceedings and filled with rich examples of integrative neurobiology and regulatory physiology, this volume: Provides updated research using human and animal models for the control of bodily fluids, thirst, and salt appetite Explores neural and endocrine control of body fluid balance, arterial pressure, thermoregulation, and ingestive behavior Discusses recent developments in molecular genetics, cell biology, and behavioral plasticity Reviews key aspects of brain serotonin and steroid and peptide control of fluid consumption and arterial pressure The book highlights research conducted by leading scientists on signal transduction and sensory afferent mechanisms, molecular genetics, perinatal and adult long-term influences on regulation, central neural integrative circuitry, and autonomic/neuroendocrine effector systems. The findings discussed by the learned contributors are relevant for a basic understanding of disorders such as heat injury, hypertension, and excess salt intake. A unique reference on the neurobiology of body fluid homeostasis, this volume is certain to fuel additional research and stimulate further debate on the topic.




Thirst and Sodium Appetite


Book Description

Thirst and Sodium Appetite ...




The Protective Arm of the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS)


Book Description

The Protective Arm of the Renin Angiotensin System: Functional Aspects and Therapeutic Implications is the first comprehensive publication to signal the protective role of a distinct part of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), providing readers with early insight into a complex system which will become of major medical importance in the near future. Focusing on recent research, The Protective Arm of the Renin Angiotensin System presents a host of new experimental studies on specific components of the RAS, namely angiotensin AT2 receptors (AT2R), the angiotensin (1–7) peptide with its receptor Mas, and the enzyme ACE 2, which exert significant beneficial, health-promoting actions by counterbalancing the well-known harmful arm of the RAS with its classical angiotensin AT1 receptor. This innovative concept of the protective arm of the RAS, examined in this reference, represents an indispensable background and will be a strong support for biomedical students, researchers, cardiologists, surgeons, nephrologists, diabetologists, and endocrinologists, as well as any other physician or researcher concerned with RAS physiology, pathophysiology and clinical implications. - Provides a complete understanding of the protective side of the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) involving angiotensin AT2 receptor, ACE2, and Ang(1-7)/Mas receptor - Combines the knowledge of editors who pioneered research on the protective renin angiotensin system including; Dr. Thomas Unger, one of the founders of AT2 receptor research; Dr. Ulrike M. Steckelings, who contributed significantly to first preclinical studies with a novel specific AT2-agonist, and Dr. Robson Santos who pioneered research on angiotensin-(1-7) and its receptor Mas. - Shows that the protective RAS axes are able to ameliorate the course of several cardiovascular, renal, metabolic and neurological diseases - Provides the basis for the understanding of a novel therapeutic approach to stimulate components of the protective arm of the RAS.




Regulation of Tissue Oxygenation, Second Edition


Book Description

This presentation describes various aspects of the regulation of tissue oxygenation, including the roles of the circulatory system, respiratory system, and blood, the carrier of oxygen within these components of the cardiorespiratory system. The respiratory system takes oxygen from the atmosphere and transports it by diffusion from the air in the alveoli to the blood flowing through the pulmonary capillaries. The cardiovascular system then moves the oxygenated blood from the heart to the microcirculation of the various organs by convection, where oxygen is released from hemoglobin in the red blood cells and moves to the parenchymal cells of each tissue by diffusion. Oxygen that has diffused into cells is then utilized in the mitochondria to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of all cells. The mitochondria are able to produce ATP until the oxygen tension or PO2 on the cell surface falls to a critical level of about 4–5 mm Hg. Thus, in order to meet the energetic needs of cells, it is important to maintain a continuous supply of oxygen to the mitochondria at or above the critical PO2 . In order to accomplish this desired outcome, the cardiorespiratory system, including the blood, must be capable of regulation to ensure survival of all tissues under a wide range of circumstances. The purpose of this presentation is to provide basic information about the operation and regulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as the properties of the blood and parenchymal cells, so that a fundamental understanding of the regulation of tissue oxygenation is achieved.




Significant Pharmaceuticals Reported in US Patents


Book Description

Significant Pharmaceuticals Reported in US Patents identifies the next generation of pharmaceuticals reported in US Patents. This "hands-on" title provides explicit laboratory methods for preparing the most recent and effective medications. Each entry documents the biological testing protocols used to evaluate a drug and the significance of the current treatment agent over previous methods. Pharmaceuticals are included in this review only if at least two of the following criteria were met: Effectiveness in treating an illness, Innovative, ease of preparation, synergy with existing Medications. Pharmaceuticals are reported for 27 separate classes of illness, including: AIDS, Alzheimer's Disease, Cardiovascular Disorders, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Hepatitis C, Osteoporosis, Obesity and Sleep Disorders. Significant Pharmaceuticals Reported in US Patents has been designed to be used as both a reference and synthetic guide for pharmaceutical, medicinal and organic chemists and graduate students. Researchers working in other areas will also find the information valuable as in many instances intermediates or the next generation pharmaceutical are readily convertible into other industrial products including: anti-oxidants, chemical additives, herbicides, polymer precursors, water purification agents. Clear structural depictions of reagents and chemical transformations have been supplied to permit the identification of other future applications. Identifies next generation pharmaceuticals Provides practical preparation methods for each active agent and derivatives Documents the analytical characterization and biological testing results of active agents




Early Vascular Aging (EVA)


Book Description

Early Vascular Aging (EVA): New Directions in Cardiovascular Protection, Second Edition continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative resource on premature alterations in artery structure and function. The book presents a novel approach to the problem of cardiovascular disease, showing it in relation to great vessels disease and revealing a comprehensive approach to the problem of increased rigidity of the great vessels, its causes, and further consequences. This second edition contains completely updated content with expanded coverage of basic and translational research, systematic reviews of the most prominent literature, discussion of applicability of new evidence and more. Written by an international team of clinicians and researchers, this is a valuable resource to basic and translational scientists, clinical researchers and clinicians in the cardiovascular field interested in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EVA. - Contains all the relevant information available on the main paradigm shifts in vascular aging research, from different fields of knowledge (from basic biology to epidemiology) - Reviews the most prominent evidence produced on early vascular aging (EVA), highlighting recent research advances, clinical applications, and research opportunities - Formulates, in each chapter, a set of research questions that need to be addressed, challenging the vast research community to take on new directions and collaborations




The Lower Brainstem and Bodily Homeostasis


Book Description

The book deals with the neural integration of behavioral and physiological aspects of bodily homeostasis viewed from the standpoint of the lower brainstem, particularly the medulla oblongata. An historical framework is maintained. Functions covered include breathing, regulation of arterial pressure and blood flow to the tissues, arousal and nociception, and eating and metabolism. A concluding chapter, devoted to the human, includes an anatomical atlas of the human lower brainstem. Emphasis is placed on anatomically-established neural circuitry rather than on poorly characterized functional centers (e.g., vasomotor centers). Similarly, conventionally recognized neural systems, including the limbic system, the reticular formation and the autonomic nervous system, are shown to be unhelpful as explanatory concepts. The autonomic nervous system, for example, comprises afferent and efferent neurons which connect the brain with the various cardiovascular and visceral structures.It does not function in its own right. Patterns of autonomic discharge originate in the brain. The book stresses the role of the visceral information that reaches the brainstem via afferent components of the lower cranial nerves, including the vagus. Homeostatic functions involve changes in behavior as well as changes in internal physiological functions, an integration achieved by the nervous system functioning as a whole.




Enteroceptors


Book Description

This series of concise essays on Enteroceptors is designed to interest the gradu ate student and to stimulate research. Even before the advent of electrophysiological studies, classical physiological techniques had shown the essence of the role of many of the enteroceptors. Thus the monitoring influence of the cardiovascular mechanoreceptors on the heart and on the systemic vascular resistance, the role of the arterial chemoreceptors in hypoxia and the influence of the so-called Hering Breuer stretch receptors on breathing had all been documented. The pioneering work of ADRIAN, BRONK, ZOTTERMAN and others using electroneurographic methods gave a remarkable impetus to the study of the enteroceptors themselves. Nowhere is this better exemplificd than in the case of the afferent end organs of the heart, the respiratory tract and the abdominal and pelvic viscera. The remarkable development of our knowledge of the multiplicity of types of nerve endings from the thoracic and abdominal viscera acquired from electrophysiological studies has refocussed our attention on the histological details of the sites of such receptors. Once more research on the structural side has been accelerated by the question raised by evidence obtained from functional studies. This is well illustrated in the case of the carotid body, where the long cherished belief that the innervated epithelioid cells constitute the chemoreceptor complex is now under attack. The detailed consideration of the functional characteristics of each entero ceptor considered has not occupied our whole attention.







Central Regulation of Autonomic Functions


Book Description

Central autonomic circuits in the brain and spinal cord are essential to vertebrate life because they are involved in controlling all basic bodily functions, including blood pressure, feeding, body temperature regulation voiding and reproduction. This wide-ranging text emphasizes the extraordinary advances that have been made over the last 20 years in understanding how the central nervous system controls autonomic functions.