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This volume is a collection of articles written by Nobel Laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini and published from 1942 to 1995. Studies described in the first part set the stage for the discovery of a protein molecule which became known as the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), described in detail in the second part. The NGF synthesized in minute amounts in all vertebrate tissues, plays an essential role in the differentiation and survival of several nerve cell populations in the peripheral and central nervous system. The discovery of the NGF was defined by the Nobel Foundation as a milestone in developmental neurobiology, and the author was awarded in 1986 with this prestigious award. Studies pursued in subsequent years and still in progress, have unveiled other fundamental properties of the NGF, described in the third part of this volume.
Neuroimmunology is a rapidly-growing branch of biomedical science that studies of all aspects of the interactions between the immune system and nervous system. It deals with, among other things, the physiological functioning of the neuroimmune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the neuroimmune system in disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency), the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the neuroimmune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Despite the brain's status as an immune privileged site, an extensive bi-directional communication takes place between the nervous and the immune system in both hea...
Hormonal Proteins and Peptides: Growth Factors, Volume XII focuses on the chemistry and biology of nerve growth factor (NGF), insulin-like growth factors/somatomedins/multiplication-stimulating activity (IGFs/SMs/MSA), fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and skeletal growth factor (SGF). This book discusses the development of growth factors in cell proliferation, differentiation, and malignancy. Organized into eight chapters, this volume starts with an overview of the findings on the structural and biological properties of NGF. This text then discusses the identical amino acid sequences of IFG-I and SM-c and explains as well the similarities in the structure of IFG-II and MSA. Other chapters present a thorough discussion of human PDGF, with emphasis on the link between the PDGF and the simian sarcoma virus gene product. This book discusses as well the mechanism of action of the pituitary and brain FGF. The final chapter deals with the discovery, isolation, and characterization of the biological activities of epidermal growth factor (EGF). This book is a valuable resource for biochemists, endocrinologists, and physicians.
Proceedings of the 11th European Society for Neurochemistry Meeting held in Groningen, The Netherlandes, June 15-20, 1996
In Life Beyond the Gene, Steven Rose confronts the ideology of reductionism and ultra-Darwinism, with its insistence that all aspects of human life from sexual preference to infanticide, political orientation to violence, male domination to alcoholism, are in our genes and are the inevitable consequences of natural selection. These claims, Rose asserts, are not only socially naive, but fundamentally misunderstand the active and irreducible nature of living processes. Rose argues that life depends on the elaborate web of interactions that occur within cells, organisms, and ecosystems, in which DNA has one part to play. From early in their development, living organisms have to be capable of quasi-independent existence while growing to maturity. If we are to understand life, we must recapture an understanding of the entire living organism and its trajectory through time and space. Rose calls these trajectories lifelines. Provocative and incisive, Life Beyond the Gene provides a compelling response to those enthusiasts of the gene who would deny the complexity of life.
Examines the life of Rita Levi-Montalcini, a woman scientist who won the Nobel Prize or her research in neurology.
Dark Deception debunks the widespread myth that sunlight is harmful to your health and demonstrates how sunlight exposure can improve your quality of life. For decades sunbathing has been considered evidence of poor health judgment, an activity comparable to smoking cigarettes. This depiction is a gross distortion of the truth. Dark Deception reveals that there is no proof that moderate sunlight exposure is harmful to your health. Sunlight exposure, which produces vitamin D, a crucial hormone for the functioning of organs, provides many therapeutic benefits, including reducing chronic degenerative diseases. Dark Deception elucidates the health benefits of sunlight exposure and the dangers of avoiding it. It offers tips for safe sunbathing. It demonstrates that oral vitamin D supplements can be toxic replacements for the natural vitamin D your body produces when exposed to sunlight. Dark Deception will change how you understand the sun and your health.
It is clear that lysosomal enzymes often play a role in the destruction of the cytoplasm, but very few authorities feel that they initiate the process (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5 -8, 12, 13). The cells show many forms of damage, and sometimes even complete destruction, before Iysosomes become a dominant part of the environ ment. What initiates the process is still unclear, although in several instances it appears that the death of a cell may arise from anyone of several pathways (Chapters, 10, II). It is rather interesting that evolution has chosen to achieve the same goal by different means. Apparently no one point is exceptionally or pre ferentially vulnerable, though a common pathway, such as pe...
Frontiers in Catecholamine Research is a collection of papers presented at the Third International Catecholamine Symposium, held at the University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, on May 20-25, 1973. This book is organized into nine parts encompassing 205 chapters. The text begins with a discussion on clinically and experimentally used drugs that have been developed or whose mechanism of action has been clarified through monoamine research. Parts II and III deal with enzymes related to catecholamine studies, their properties, regulation, genetics, mechanism of action, and localization. Parts IV and V examine the concepts of synaptic dynamics of brain regulators and the isolation, characterization, methods of analysis, and mechanism of action of catecholamines. Part VI focuses on the complexities that surround the extrapolation of catecholamine function into the realms of electrophysiology and behavior. Part VII discusses the metabolism, behavioral, neurological, and physiological effects of amphetamine and other drugs of abuse. The concluding parts describe the role of catecholamine and its metabolism in neurologic diseases, such as schizophrenia.
Mast Cells and Basophils will be essential reading for immunologists, biochemists and medical researchers. Detailed chapters cover all aspects of mast cell and basophil research, from cell development, proteases, histamine, cysteinyl leukotrienes, physiology and pathology to the role of these cells in health and disease. Chapters also discuss the clinical implications of histamine receptor antagonists.