In this exciting and timely book new approaches to repairing the brains of people suffering from Parkinson's disease are described by leading experts. Never in history has there been greater hope that novel experimental therapies can support significant restoration of brain function. Restorative therapy that can be applied in large numbers of patients does not yet exist, but the initial trials have provided a fundamental insight into the potential for plasticity in the diseased brain. This book gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art research for brain repair, what the challenges are, and an indication of what research can provide for the next generation of people with Parkinson's disease. The comprehensive chapters are geared to an audience of neuroscientists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and anyone interested in how findings in the research laboratory can effectively be transferred to the clinic.

Klappentext

Parkinson's disease is a common and devastating progressive disorder that primarily affects motor function. In this exciting and timely book, novel approaches to repairing the parkinsonian brain are described by some of the world's leading scientists and clinicians in the field. Dealing with cutting-edge research, it covers several important topics including medical ethics, clinical trial design, stem cell biology, intracerebral transplantation, brain imaging, neurotrophic factors and neural regeneration. The comprehensive chapters are geared to an audience of neuroscientists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and anyone interested in how findings in the research laboratory can effectively be transferred to the clinic. Restorative therapies in Parkinson's disease have pioneered translational research in the area of brain repair for close to three decades. This book clearly shows that research in Parkinson's disease continues to play a leading role and can provide a model for how functional restoration might be achieved in several brain disorders in the future.

Zusammenfassung

Never in history has there been greater hope that novel experimental therapies can support significant restoration of brain function. The field of restorative therapies in Parkinson's disease has passed the initial phase of pioneering experimental and clinical trials. There still does not exist restorative therapy that can be applied in large numbers of patients, but the initial trials have provided us with fundamental insight into the potential for plasticity in the diseased brain. This book gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art research for brain repair, what the challenges are and an indication of what research can provide for the next generation of people with Parkinson's disease.

Inhalt
Restorative Therapies in a Historical Perspective.- Ethical Issues in the Approaches of Restorative Therapies for Parkinson's Disease.- Evolution of Parkinson's Disease and Treatment Requirements.- What New Treatments are Needed and the Role of Striatal Grafting.- Clinical Trial Design Issues.- Lessons Learnt from Early Clinical Neural Grafting in Parkinson's Disease.- Fetal Nigral Transplantation as a Therapy for Parkinson's Disease.- Imaging of the Parkinsonian Brain in Relation to Restorative Therapy.- Important Aspects of Surgical Methodology for Transplantation in Parkinson's Disease.- Histopathological and Clinical Criteria for Analyzing Transplanted Human Dopamine Cells in Parkinson's Disease.- Dyskinesias and Neural Grafting in Parkinson's Disease.- Porcine Neural Xenotransplantation: Current Status.- Adult-Derived Stem Cells for Transplantation in Parkinson's Disease.- Embryonic Stem Cells for Grafting in Parkinson's Disease.- Delivery of GDNF For Parkinson's Disease: Transition of a Neuroprotective Treatment Strategy from Basic Sciences to Clinical Application.- Genetically Modified Cells as a Source for Grafting in Parkinson'se Disease.- In Vivo Gene Therapy as a Potential Treatment for Parkinson's Disease.