Lloyd A. Horrocks – författare

This volume provides a comprehensive description of phospholipid metabolism in brain, activities of phospholipases A2, and their involvement in neurological disorders. The purpose of this book is to present readers with cutting edge information in a lively manner that is useful not only to student and teachers but also to researchers and physicians.

In the past decade, our understanding of the biochemistry, molecular biology, and neuropathology of the glutamate transporters and receptors has exploded. It is becoming increasingly evident that molecular mechanisms, which govern the transfer of the death signal from the neural cell surface to the nucleus, depend on lipid mediators and on cross talk among excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation, and that interactions among these three processes play a major role in neuronal cell death during acute neural trauma and neurodegenerative disease. These processes may be primary initiating points in neurodegeneration or they may be the end result of the neurodegenerative process itself.

Neurochemical Aspects of Excitotoxicity provides extensive insight into glutamate transporters and receptors, including their role in the brain with other neurochemical parameters in excitotoxicity, and possible treatments. This book will be of interest scientists already working in the field of excitotoxicity who are interested in gaining a broader understanding of this complicated subject area, as well as graduate students and neurologists who are curious about a common cause of neuronal injury and neurological disorders.

Information on bioactive ether lipids and their involvement in neurological disorders is currently scattered throughout the literature in the form of original papers and reviews. Metabolism and Functions of Bioactive Ether Lipids in the Brain provides readers with a comprehensive description of metabolism of bioactive ether lipids in the brain, activities of enzymes involved in their metabolism, and their involvement in neurological disorders.

This book will be particularly useful to neuroscience graduate students, academics, and researchers. Clinicians will find this book useful for understanding molecular aspects of neurodegeneration in acute neural trauma and neurodegenerative diseases that are mediated by plamalogen-selective phospholipase A2 and PAF acetyl hydrolase. This monograph will be first to provide a comprehensive description of not only metabolism and role of plasmalogen and platelet activating factor in brain tissue but also the involvement of these lipids with abnormal signal transduction processes in neurological disorders.