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.

Inhalt

Brain imaging revisited.- Magnetic Resonance: A multimodal approach to the brain?.- Measurement of the dopaminergic degeneration in Parkinson's disease with [123I]?-CIT and SPECT.- rCBF SPECT in Parkinson's disease patients with mental dysfunction.- IBZM- and ?-CIT-SPECT of the dopaminergic system in parkinsonism.- Pathophysiology of movement disorders studied using PET.- Contributions of Positron Emission Tomography to elucidating the pathogenesis of Idiopathic Parkinsonism and Dopa Responsive Dystonia.- Endogenous and exogenous neurotoxins.- Mechanism of 6-Hydroxydopamine neurotoxicity.- Induction of mitosis-related genes during dopamine-triggered apopto-sis in sympathetic neurons.- Neuronal vulnerability in Parkinson's disease.- N-Methyl-(R)salsolinol as a dopaminergic neurotoxin: From an animal model to an early marker of Parkinson's disease.- The halogenated tetrahydro-?-carboline "TaClo": A progressively-acting neurotoxin.- Programmed cell death, apoptosis, necrosis and in between.- Developmental and genetic regulation of programmed neuronal death.- Apoptosis in neurodegenerative disorders.- Mechanisms of cell death in Alzheimer's disease.- Assessment of neurotoxicity and "neuroprotection".- Immunoinflammatory mechanisms, infective diseases causing neurological disorders.- Update on management and genetics of multiple sclerosis.- Pathogenesis of immune-mediated demyelination in the CNS.- Basic mechanisms of brain inflammation.- Cell death in prion disease.