Brain Damage and Brain Repair

This work describes the various conditions that lead to damage to the nervous system, and the ways in which they may be ameliorated. It covers the burgeoning science of reconstruction of the nervous system, through neuronal, glial and stem cell transplantation, and axon regeneration.

Many neurological conditions are caused by damage to neurons and glial cells. For most of these diseases there are at present no effective treatments to minimize the extent of neuronal and glial loss, and no effective way of replacing what has been lost. This picture is rapidly changing. Developments in basic neuroscience have produced various potential therapies that can protect neurons and glia following traumatic, anoxic, infectious and immunological damage. The old doctrine that axons cannot be made to regenerate, and dead neurons cannot be replaced is no longer tenable, and a wide variety of reconstructive techniques for the nervous system are under development. These and other basic science discoveries will progress into clinical practice, and lead to a revolution in neurology and neurosurgery. This book describes the various conditions that lead to damage to the nervous system, and the ways in which they may be ameliorated. It covers the burgeoning science of reconstruction of the nervous system, through neuronal, glial and stem cell transplantation, axon regeneration, remyelination, plasticity and pharmacological interventions.

Section I: Mechanisms of Brain Damage. 2: Axotomy and mechanical damage. 3: Metabolic damage. 4: Inflammation and demyelination (with Neil Scolding). 5: Infection (with Roger Barker). 6: Neurodegenerative disease (with Harry Baker). Section II: Damage Limitation. 8: Steroids (Joe Herbert). 9: Growth factors. 10: Control of inflammation. Section III: Intrinsic mechanisms of recovery. 12: Failure of CNS regeneration. 13: Anatomical plasticity. 14: Biochemical plasticity. 15: Remyelination (Robin Franklin). Section IV: Clinical Assessment of Brain Damage. 17: Motor, sensory and autonomic failure (with Charlotte Behan). 18: Cognition (with Andrew Lawrence and B J Sahakian). 19: Neuropsychiatry (with German Berrios and Eugene Paykel). Section V: Pharmacology and Rehabilitation. 21: Neuropsychological rehabilitation (Ian Robertson and Barbara Wilson). Section VI: Structural Repair. 23: Primary neuronal grafts. 24: Glial grafts (Robin Franklin). 25: Stem cells. 26: Gene therapy (with Stacey Efsthathiou). Appendix