This thoroughly updated edition covers all clinical aspects of neuroinflammation. The latest developments in pathogenesis and advances in treatment are provided, along with an understanding of the immune system's role and interactions between the activated immune cells, cerebral endothelial cells, and other main components of the immune cascade. Cutting-edge and authoritative, this volume offers practitioners a valuable resource for research and clinical practice.

A cutting-edge review of the fundamental biological principles underlying the more common inflammatory disorders of the nervous system. The authors provide extensive updates on the latest findings concerning the mechanisms of inflammation and introduce such new concepts and methodologies as "endothelial and leukocyte microparticles" and "gene microarray technology" to help explain important links between the central nervous system (CNS) and general inflammatory processes. Among the diseases examined from an inflammatory perspective are multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, CNS vasculitis, neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The role of the immune system in neuroinflammation is also explored in such disorders as neurosarcoidois, HIV-Associated dementia, and HTLV-associated neurological disorders.

This thoroughly updated edition covers all clinical aspects of neuroinflammation. The latest developments in pathogenesis and advances in treatment are provided, along with an understanding of the immune system's role and interactions between the activated immune cells, cerebral endothelial cells, and other main components of the immune cascade. Cutting-edge and authoritative, this volume offers practitioners a valuable resource for research and clinical practice.

Multiple sclerosis [MS] is one of the most common auto-immune-mediated diseases of the human central nervous system [CNS] which affects young adults and usually causes significant neurological disability. Currently, the causes of MS are still unclear, a cure for MS remains elusive and the effectiveness of treatment varies significantly among individuals. Clinical features and neurological deficits stemming from this progressive neurological disease are diverse since MS potentially affects human CNS at all levels from brain to the end of spinal cord. The triggering event for development of MS remains unknown. Immunopathogenesis of MS involves a number of steps which include activation of peripheral leukocytes against putative CNS antigen(s), interactions of the activated leukocytes with inflamed cerebral endothelial cells, transendothelial migration of activated lymphocytes and macrophages to the CNS milieu, and further propagation of the massive immune response within the CNS. Such massive immune activation leads to loss of myelin-oligodendrocyte complex. Several immune cell types and mediators of the immune-inflammatory response actively contribute to pathogenesis of MS. Genetic factors are also believed to play a central role in the development of most forms of MS. Another important but much unrecognized and under-researched feature of MS immunopathology is "neurodegeneration." Neuronal loss and axonal degeneration are the core components of irreversible and permanent CNS atrophy and disability in MS. What we call MS in reality is a heterogeneous group of diseases and at least four distinct immunopathological subtypes of MS with dissimilar responses to therapy with immunomodulatory agents exist. MS is a clinical diagnosis, however, its diagnostic process is much facilitated by utilization of laboratory and neuroimaging studies. Present therapies of MS are either immunomodulatory agents or immunosuppressive and mainly target the peripheral immune system with the intention to ameliorate the severity of acute relapses, decrease annual relapse rate, and improve MRI lesions. Currently, much research activity is being conducted to better understand the fundamental disease mechanisms of MS and find more effective and safer treatments for this incurable disease. This book presents an overview of MS as a disease with neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative features and the authors discuss the most recent findings about MS and its treatment.

Neurologists and neuroscientists have been fascinated with the phenomenon of handedness and through the course of human history the question that why a minority of each population is left-handed and the rest right-handed has never been fully answered. An even better question is whether the brains of left-handed individuals are architected and wired different than those of the right-handers and if such fundamental anatomic and functional dissimilarities lead to the preference of left hand over the right hand. The ultimate question is that how different the brains of left-handers are from the right-handers or simply there are not many differences between the two groups. More than its or social aspects, handedness is a sophisticated subject of cognitive and behavioral neurology which leads to the even more complicated of the left hemisphere versus right hemisphere. The issue of handedness is of such importance that one is the first components of any standard neurological examination is determination of the handedness with the idea of determining which hemisphere is dominant. In the present book, Noroozian and her colleagues explore the under-explored and fascinating world of handedness and attempt to utilize the concept of handedness and the mechanisms responsible for becoming right-handed versus left-handed as a bridge to better understand the phenomenon of laterality of human brain. The authors of this easily readable and easy-to-understand monograph review the latest findings concerning handedness and human brain asymmetry. This interesting book can serve as a great resource for clinical psychologists, neurologists, neuroscientists, cognitive neurologists and psychiatrists.

Inflammation is a central mechanism in many neurological diseases, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, and brain trauma as well as meningitis and contributes to the generation of pain. We are now beginning to understand the impact of the immune system on different nervous system functions and diseases, ranging from damage through tolerance to modulation and repair.

This book discusses some of the more common neuro-inflammatory diseases. Topics covered include multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis and Susac syndrome.
Comprehensive review of the latest developments in neuroinflammation
Includes contributions from leading authorities

Timely diagnosis and management of neurological diseases during pregnancy poses major therapeutic challenges to neurologists and other non-neurologist health care providers. Pregnancy is a unique period in life associated with significant hormonal and other physiologic changes in female patients, which may trigger or alter the course of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In addition, many diagnostic proceduresthat can be performed in non-pregnant women are prohibited during pregnancy for safety reasons. Therapeutic decisions and management of a pregnant patient with neurological disorders heavily depends on the issue of the reasonable balance between the risks of no treatment versus active treatment for the mother and her fetus.

This book provides a review of the latest findings in this field, giving the neurologist and non-neurologist the information they need to determine the best treatment. Neurological disorders covered include multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy.
Discusses how neurological disorders shouldbemanagedin a pregnant patientIncludes contributions from leading authorities"