iPSCs for Modeling Central Nervous System Disorders, Volume 6


Book Description

The series Advances in Stem Cell Biology is a timely and expansive collection of comprehensive information and new discoveries in the field of stem cell biology. iPSCs for Modeling Central Nervous System Disorders, Volume 6 addresses how induced pluripotent stem cells can be used to model various CNS disorders. Somatic cells can be reprogrammed into Induced pluripotent stem cells by the expression of specific transcription factors. These cells are transforming biomedical research in the last 15 years. The volume teaches readers about current advances in the field. This book describes the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to model several CNS diseases in vitro, enabling us to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in different CNS pathologies. Further insights into these mechanisms will have important implications for our understanding of CNS disease appearance, development, and progression. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in the obtention of induced pluripotent stem cells and their differentiation into several cell types, tissues and organs using state-of-art techniques. These advantages facilitated identification of key targets and definition of the molecular basis of several CNS disorders. This volume will cover what we know so far about the use of iPSCs to model different CNS disorders, such as: Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, Fragile X Syndrome, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Rett Syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Parkinson`s Disease, Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, Anorexia Nervosa, and more. The volume is written for researchers and scientists interested in stem cell therapy, cell biology, regenerative medicine, and neuroscience; and is contributed by world-renowned authors in the field. Provides overview of the fast-moving field of induced pluripotent stem cell technology and its application in neurobiology Covers the following CNS diseases: Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, Fragile X Syndrome, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Rett Syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Parkinson`s Disease, Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, Anorexia Nervosa, and more Contains description of cutting-edge research on the development of disease-specific human pluripotent stem cells. These cells allow us to study cellular and molecular processes involved in several CNS human diseases




Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders


Book Description

Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders is the summary of a workshop convened by the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders to examine opportunities to accelerate early phases of drug development for nervous system drug discovery. Workshop participants discussed challenges in neuroscience research for enabling faster entry of potential treatments into first-in-human trials, explored how new and emerging tools and technologies may improve the efficiency of research, and considered mechanisms to facilitate a more effective and efficient development pipeline. There are several challenges to the current drug development pipeline for nervous system disorders. The fundamental etiology and pathophysiology of many nervous system disorders are unknown and the brain is inaccessible to study, making it difficult to develop accurate models. Patient heterogeneity is high, disease pathology can occur years to decades before becoming clinically apparent, and diagnostic and treatment biomarkers are lacking. In addition, the lack of validated targets, limitations related to the predictive validity of animal models - the extent to which the model predicts clinical efficacy - and regulatory barriers can also impede translation and drug development for nervous system disorders. Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders identifies avenues for moving directly from cellular models to human trials, minimizing the need for animal models to test efficacy, and discusses the potential benefits and risks of such an approach. This report is a timely discussion of opportunities to improve early drug development with a focus toward preclinical trials.




GeNeDis 2018


Book Description

The 3rd World Congress on Genetics, Geriatrics, and Neurodegenerative Disease Research (GeNeDis 2018), focuses on recent advances in genetics, geriatrics, and neurodegeneration, ranging from basic science to clinical and pharmaceutical developments. It also provides an international forum for the latest scientific discoveries, medical practices, and care initiatives. Advanced information technologies are discussed, including the basic research, implementation of medico-social policies, and the European and global issues in the funding of long-term care for elderly people.




The International after 150 Years


Book Description

The International Workingmen’s Association was the prototype of all organizations of the Labour movement and the 150th anniversary of its birth (1864-2014) offers an important opportunity to rediscover its history and learn from its legacy. The International helped workers to grasp that the emancipation of labour could not be won in a single country but was a global objective. It also spread an awareness in their ranks that they had to achieve the goal themselves, through their own capacity for organization, rather than by delegating it to some other force; and that it was essential to overcome the capitalist system itself, since improvements within it, though necessary to pursue, would not eliminate exploitation and social injustice. This book reconsider the main issues broached or advanced by the International – such as labor rights, critiques of capitalism and the search for international solidarity – in light of present-day concerns. With the recent crisis of capitalism, that has sharpened more than before the division between capital and labour, the political legacy of the organization founded in London in 1864 has regained profound relevance, and its lessons are today more timely than ever. This book was published as a special issue of Socialism and Democracy.




Pluripotent Stem Cells


Book Description

Pluripotent stem cells have distinct characteristics: self-renewal and the potential to differentiate into various somatic cells. In recent years, substantial advances have been made from basic science to clinical applications. The vast amount knowledge available makes obtaining concise yet sufficient information difficult, hence the purpose of this book. In this book, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells are discussed. The book is divided into five sections: pluripotency, culture methods, toxicology, disease models, and regenerative medicine. The topics covered range from new concepts to current technologies. Readers are expected to gain useful information from expert contributors.




Brain Energy Metabolism


Book Description

Brain Energy Metabolism addresses its challenging subject by presenting diverse technologies allowing for the investigation of brain energy metabolism on different levels of complexity. Model systems are discussed, starting from the reductionist approach like primary cell cultures which allow assessing of the properties and functions of a single brain cell type with many different types of analysis, however, at the expense of neglecting the interaction between cell types in the brain. On the other end, analysis in animals and humans in vivo is discussed, maintaining the full complexity of the tissue and the organism but making high demands on the methods of analysis. Written for the popular Neuromethods series, chapters include the kind of detailed description and key implementation advice that aims to support reproducible results in the lab. Meticulous and authoritative, Brain Energy Metabolism provides an ideal guide for researchers interested in brain energy metabolism with the hope of stimulating more research in this exciting and very important field.




Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases


Book Description

This book represents the third in a series of International Conferences related to Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. The first one took place in Eilat, Israel, in 1985; and the second one in Kyoto, Japan, in 1989. This book contains the full text of oral and poster presentations from the Third International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Recent Developments, held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on November 1-6, 1993. The Chicago Conference was attended by 270 participants. The Scientific Program was divided into nine oral sessions, a keynote presentation, and a poster session. The conference culminated in a Round Table Discussion involving all of the participants in the conference. The four and one-half day meeting served as an excellent medium for surveying the current status of clinical and preclinical developments in AD and PD. There were 59 oral presentations and 93 posters. This book incorporates a majority of both.




Dynamic-Clamp


Book Description

Dynamic-clamp is a fascinating electrophysiology technique that consists of merging living neurons with computational models. The dynamic-clamp (also called “conductance injection”) allows experimentalists and theoreticians to challenge neurons (or any other type of cell) with complex conductance stimuli generated by a computer. The technique can be implemented from neural simulation environments and a variety of custom-made or commercial systems. The real-time interaction between the computer and cell also enables the design of recording paradigms with unprecedented accuracy via a computational model of the electrode. Dynamic-Clamp: From Principles to Applications contains contributions from leading researchers in the field, who investigate these paradigms at the cellular or network level, in vivo and in vitro, and in different brain regions and cardiac cells. Topics discussed include the addition of artificially-generated synaptic activity to neurons; adding, amplifying or neutralizing voltage-dependent conductances; creating hybrid networks with real and artificial cells; attaching simulated dendritic tree structures to the living cell; and connecting different neurons. This book will be of interest to experimental biophysicists, neurophysiologists, and cardiac physiologists, as well as theoreticians, engineers, and computational neuroscientists. Graduate and undergraduate students will also find up-to-date coverage of physiological problems and how they are investigated.