This book focuses on the role of gangliosides in three areas of medicine in which rapid progress has been made in the last decade: cancer, peripheral neuropathies and Alzheimer''s disease. The volume further reflects progress in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies, and the controversial role of gangliosides, also in therapeutic administration. There is a section on the role of gangliosides in neuronal differentiation and development and their receptor functions and cell surface activities. This excellent addition to the renowned Progress in Brain Research series also contains an invaluable plenary lecture on molecular basis of cell adhesion by Nobel prizewinner Gerald Edelman.