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Nitric oxide (NO) is a simple gas with free radical properties. No
one would have imagined a role for such a simple substance in the
human body. In 1998, R. E Furchgott, E Murad, and L. J. Ignarro
received the Nobel prize for their work on NO. Interestingly,
Alfred B. Nobel, who invented dynamite by combining nitro glycerin
with other substances, took nitroglycerin for his chest pain
without realizing that NO mediates its action. Now, in addition to
its vasodilating action, NO is known to possess many fundamental
functions that include neurotrans mission, blood pressure control,
blood clotting, and immune responses. These diverse functions,
conversely, imply that the simple NO molecule may unite
neuroscience, physiology, and immunology and may change our
understanding of how cells communicate and defend themselves. In
this context, the Inter national Symposium, Nitric Oxide and Free
Radicals, was organized to address current thinking about the
widespread distribution and variety of functions of NO in the eye.
The symposium was held in Kyoto, Japan, September 28-29 as a
Satellite Symposium of the XII International Congress of Eye
Research, 1996. The Symposium was the first international gathering
of leading scientists and ophthalmologists meeting to present and
discuss their most recent results in a specialized area of
research, specifically concerning the eye.
The diverse roles in physiological function now attributed to
nitric oxide include those it performs in the eye. In recent years
this simple molecule has become the subject of increased attention
among researchers and practitioners concerned with the eye. While
most books in the field have concentrated on the pharmacology of NO
in the central and peripheral nervous system or the cardiovascular
system, the contents of this volume encompass all aspects of the
eye and NO. With authors who are leading scientists worldwide, the
major sections include reports of the latest research in the
mechanism of ocular hypertension and glaucoma (aqueous dynamics),
ocular autonomic neurotransmission (ocular bloodflow), and the
pathophysiology of uveitis; the final section contains three
chapters on the role of NO specific to the retina. This book is a
valuable resource for researchers as well as for ophthalmologists
and other practitioners interested in the role of NO in the eye.
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