This book represents the third in a series of International Conferences related to Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. The first one took place in Eilat, Israel, in 1985; and the second one in Kyoto, Japan, in 1989. This book contains the full text of oral and poster presentations from the Third International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Recent Developments, held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on November 1-6, 1993. The Chicago Conference was attended by 270 participants. The Scientific Program was divided into nine oral sessions, a keynote presentation, and a poster session. The conference culminated in a Round Table Discussion involving all of the participants in the conference. The four and one-half day meeting served as an excellent medium for surveying the current status of clinical and preclinical developments in AD and PD. There were 59 oral presentations and 93 posters. This book incorporates a majority of both.

This book represents the third in a series of International Conferences related to Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. The first one took place in Eilat, Israel, in 1985; and the second one in Kyoto, Japan, in 1989. This book contains the full text of oral and poster presentations from the Third International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Recent Developments, held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on November 1-6, 1993. The Chicago Conference was attended by 270 participants. The Scientific Program was divided into nine oral sessions, a keynote presentation, and a poster session. The conference culminated in a Round Table Discussion involving all of the participants in the conference. The four and one-half day meeting served as an excellent medium for surveying the current status of clinical and preclinical developments in AD and PD. There were 59 oral presentations and 93 posters. This book incorporates a majority of both.

This two-volume work contains the full text of the oral and poster presentations and the general discussion at the round table discussion of the Second International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Basic and Therapeutic Strategies, held at the Kyoto Park Hotel in Kyoto, Japan, on November 6-10, 1989. The First Conference was held at the Aviya Sonesta Hotel in Eilat, Israel, on March 24-27, 1985. , The record of this First Conference was published by Plenum Press in 1986 as Volume 29 in Advances in Behavioral Biology, under the title "Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Strategies for Research and Development." We are happy that the comprehensive texts of the oral and poster presentations of the Second Conference could again be published within the framework of this series. Since the First Conference in 1985, rapid progress has been made in both basic and therapeutic aspects of these diseases. About 700 scientists from allover the world participated in the Second Conference, and 300 papers were presented in oral and poster sessions. Many people and organizations have helped to organize this multi disciplinary international conference and hence have contributed to the scientific quality of these two volumes. We thank the members of the organizing committee, the organizations that provided financial support, and the contributing scientists for their enthusiastic participation.

This two-volume work contains the full text of the oral and poster presentations and the general discussion at the round table discussion of the Second International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Basic and Therapeutic Strategies, held at the Kyoto Park Hotel in Kyoto, Japan, on November 6-10, 1989. The First Conference was held at the Aviya Sonesta Hotel in Eilat, Israel, on March 24-27, 1985. The record of this First Conference was published by Plenum Press in 1986 as Volume 29 in Advances in Behavioral Biology, under the title "Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Strategies for Research and Development." We are happy that the comprehensive texts of the oral and poster presentations of the Second Conference could again be published within the framework of this series. Since the First Conference in 1985, rapid progress has been made in both basic and 'therapeutic aspects of these diseases. About 700 scientists from allover the world participated in the Second Conference, and 300 papers were presented in oral and poster sessions. Many people and organizations have helped to organize this multi disciplinary international conference and hence have contributed to the scientific quality of these two volumes. We thank the members of the organizing committee, the organizations that provided financial support, and the contributing scientists for their enthusiastic participation. These two volumes follow the same publishing philosophy as the volume derived from the First Conference. They span a broad spectrum of topics and bridge preclinical and clinical concepts related to these diseases.

This b00k reviews the recent advances in the research on Parkinson's disease. It contains review articles from basic to clinical researches including the historical introduction and the molecular biological approach to Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is the most representative, age-related neurodegenerative disease. It is clinically characterized by movement disorders such as muscle rigidity, akinesia and tremor. The elucidation of its biochemical and molecular mechanisms has rapidly been progressing and is expected to contribute to the understanding of normal brain aging in general. This project is supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas, "Molecular Biology of the Motor System," Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, for 3 years from 1987 to 1989. We are grateful for the support. These reviews are a part of the works which have been supported by this Grant-in-Aid. The characteristics of this research project on Parkinson's disease are interdisciplinary approach from basic, molecular biology to clinical medicine, and the molecular biological approach is expected to be the most promising for the elucidation of the pathogenesis. The collaboration and discussion between basic and clinical researchers in this Priority Area Project has been efficient and productive. We hope that this book can mark another new milestone in the studies on Park, oson's disease and in neuroscience. We are very grateful to Nippon Schering for their generous support for the publication of this book. Last but not least, we thank Springer-Verlag Wien New York for the excellent production of this book and the excellent cooperation.