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Thirty-five years ago, when Stephen Kuffler and his colleagues at
Harvard initiated a new era of research on the properties and
functions of neuroglial cells, very few neuro scientists were
impressed at the time with the hypothesis that neuroglial cells
could have another, though more subtle, role to play in the nervous
system than to provide static support to neurons. Today, very few
neuroscientists are unaware of the fact that multiple interactions
between neurons and glial cells have been described, and that they
consti tute the basis for understanding the function and the
pathology of the nervous system. Glial cells outnumber neurons and
make up about one-half of the bulk of the nervous system. They are
divided into two major classes: first, the macroglia, which include
astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system, and
the Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system; and second, the
microglial cells. These different classes of glial cells have
different functions and contribute in different ways in the devel
opment, function, and the pathology of the nervous system."
This book, which takes as its focus the biology and pathology of
glial cells, pays special attention to the issues concerning the
cellular and molecular interactions occurring between glia and
neurons. Research over the last 30 years has shown that, contrary
to previously held conceptions of the role of glial cells as being
of secondary importance to that of neurons, they are major
constituents of the nervous system, playing a pivotal role during
development and adulthood. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that
glial cells are involved in a number of disease states, some of
which are still incurable, such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple
sclerosis and other central and peripheral neuropathies. It is also
well known that Schwann cells, the major glial cells of the
peripheral nervous system, are unique in their ability to sustain
and promote regeneration not only of peripheral but also of central
neurons after traumatic injury. Thus the relatively new idea of
repairing CNS damage through the transplantation of glial cells is
an approach with great clinical potential. Bringing together
contributions from expert researchers in the field, this is an
informative and forward thinking approach to a continuously
expanding field.
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