Cytokines and the CNS

This volume explores the current status of cytokines in the light of recent advances in the understanding of cytokines and the identification and characterization of neurotrophic factors. It looks at the role of cytokines in developmental and pathological processes in the central nervous system.

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In Cytokines and the CNS, leading practicing physicians and scientists review the current status of cytokines, with an emphasis on their role in developmental and pathological processes in the central nervous system (CNS). They describe various cytokine families and their receptors, focusing on the delineation of known mechanisms by which ligand-receptor interactions mediate biological effects. The book also emphasizes interactions between cytokines and other biological regulators at the cellular and molecular level, and considers in detail tissue-specific effects exerted on CNS cells by cytokines. Cytokine regulation of CNS development also is discussed. With this background, Cytokines and the CNS then explores how cytokine action may be implicated in various human disease processes, including inflammation, neoplasia, degeneration, and the neurological manifestations of HIV infection.
This book features cutting-edge information in this rapidly expanding area of investigation - the result of explosive growth in the understanding of cytokines' role in hematopoiesis, inflammation, and immunity, combined with tremendous advances in the identification and characterization of neurotrophic factors. Cytokines and the CNS contains chapters by practicing researchers from the fields of neurobiology and immunology/hematopoiesis, and presents both practical and conceptual information.