Glaucoma is one of the main causes of blindness throughout the world. It is characterized by death of the retinal ganglion cells, which is associated with loss of the axons making up the optic nerve. Recent studies have demonstrated support for the classification of glaucoma as a degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), leading researchers to look at identifying neuroprotection strategies for the treatment of this disease, like those used for other degenerative diseases of the CNS. This book will provide an in-depth examination of the most recent findings regarding glaucoma, including risk factors, diagnosis, clinical monitoring, treatment, and above all, the need for treatment based on the concept of neuroprotection. A large part of the book is devoted to research related to this new approach to the treatment of glaucoma.- Describes the most recent developments on neuroprotection of the optic nerve, including experimental models now used and clinical protocols- Discusses new strategies for the prevention of neuronal injury in glaucoma patients- Focuses on evidence-based risk factors, innovative diagnostic aspects and advanced medical/surgical treatment of glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the main causes of blindness throughout the world. It is characterized by death of the retinal ganglion cells, which is associated with loss of the axons making up the optic nerve. Recent studies have demonstrated support for the classification of glaucoma as a degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), leading researchers to look at identifying neuroprotection strategies for the treatment of this disease, like those used for other degenerative diseases of the CNS. This book will provide an in-depth examination of the most recent findings regarding glaucoma, including risk factors, diagnosis, clinical monitoring, treatment, and above all, the need for treatment based on the concept of neuroprotection. A large part of the book is devoted to research related to this new approach to the treatment of glaucoma. Describes the most recent developments on neuroprotection of the optic nerve, including experimental models now used and clinical protocols Discusses new strategies for the prevention of neuronal injury in glaucoma patients Focuses on evidence-based risk factors, innovative diagnostic aspects and advanced medical/surgical treatment of glaucoma

Biochemistry of Characterised Neurons provides a report on the progress made in the analysis of the biology of specific neurons in the central nervous system. This book emphasizes the biochemical, morphological, and functional aspects of characterized neurons, including ways and sophisticated techniques of isolating them. This publication is divided into 11 chapters. The first chapter evaluates the relevance of working with single neurons. Chapters 2 to 6 discuss specific, characterized, invertebrate neurons containing one of the putative neurotransmitter substances. Chapter 7 deals with the biochemistry of a unique vertebrate (Torpedo) cholinergic system that enables pure cholinergic neuronal cell bodies and endings to be analyzed separately. The sensitive radiochemical procedures used to analyze transmitter substances and transmitter enzymes, and how they can be adapted to map the distribution of transmitters in individual neurons of Aplysia, are discussed in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 describes methods for the analysis of specific cells in the retina, while Chapters 10 and 11 focus on the analysis of proteins within defined neurons. This text is beneficial to biochemists and students interested in analyzing neurons.

Dale''s Principle and Communication Between Neurones is based on a colloquium of the Neurochemical Group of the Biochemical Society, held at Oxford University, July 1982. This book focuses on communication between neurones by means of chemical signals. The book contains an introductory chapter by V. P. Whittaker and nine further chapters on various aspects of the chemical communication processes between neurones. Topics covered include chemical communication between excitable cells; the neuroendocrine division of the nervous system; evidence for a neurone having the capacity to use two chemicals in the same process; and non-synaptic interneuronal communication. Each article is based on the excellent lectures given by the main authors and the discussion which ensued in the one-day colloquium held in Oxford. The final chapter is a specially invited contribution by Drs. Polak and Varndell, who agreed to produce an article on their new method of localising transmitter-like molecules at the electron-microscopic level.

Microchemical Analysis of Nervous Tissue focuses on the use of microbiochemical methods in the analysis of nervous tissue, with emphasis on those related to the study of amines, amino acids, phospholipids, and proteins. Special attention is paid to the choice of biological material and the various procedures used for the isolation by dissection of defined components of the nervous system. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of microprocedures used in neurochemistry, followed by a discussion on the importance of choosing the biological material for microanalysis. The isolation of nervous tissue for analysis is then considered, with particular reference to invertebrate neurons; cell components from fresh, "fixed," freeze-dried, and frozen impregnated tissue; and discrete areas of nervous tissue. Subsequent chapters describe some instruments and glassware used in microprocedures, along with the applications of such procedures; general techniques used in microprocedures; microdetermination of phospholipids as well as amines and amino acids as dansyl derivatives; and microelectrophoresis of proteins. This book will be of interest to molecular biologists, microbiologists, physiologists, and neurochemists.

This book contains up-dated versions of articles which proved very popular when first published in Neurochemistry International. The articles draw attention to developments in a specific field perhaps unfamiliar to the reader, collating observations from a wide area which seem to point in a new direction, giving the author''s personal view on a controversial topic, or directing soundly based criticism at some widely held dogma or widely used technique in the neurosciences.

The relatively simple, stratified nature of the retina and its spe- fied use in the visual process has long made it an inviting tissue to study both for its own sake and as a model for the more complex processes of the brain. For these dual purposes, the retina can be thought of as basically consisting of two functional pans. First, the outer retina, comprised of the photoreceptor cells and attendant pigment epithelium, serves to capture the photic energy and convert it into a neurochemical response. Second, the inner layers of the retina, mainly bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells (and their attendant Maller cells), function more clearly as a typical part of the CNS, transmitting the photic signals to the brain. Between the 8th and 12th of August 1988 more than seventy scientists from allover the world gathered in Oldenburg (Federal Republic of Gennany) for a meeting "The neurobiology of the inner retina" which was devoted entirely to the neural mechanism of the inner synaptic layer of the verte­ brate retina. The meeting comprised twenty - three separate lectures and four specially arranged discussion groups. In addition, a number of posters were displayed and a period was allotted specifically for the discussion of these posters. The articles contained in this book will serve as a record of the papers delivered at the Oldenburg Meeting and illustrate the advances made in trying to understand the importance of the diversity of amacrine cell morphology and physiology in retinal function.

Glaucoma is one of the main causes of blindness throughout the world. It is characterized by death of the retinal ganglion cells, which is associated with loss of the axons making up the optic nerve. Recent studies have demonstrated support for the classification of glaucoma as a degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), leading researchers to look at identifying neuroprotection strategies for the treatment of this disease, like those used for other degenerative diseases of the CNS. This book will provide an in-depth examination of the most recent findings regarding glaucoma, including risk factors, diagnosis, clinical monitoring, treatment, and above all, the need for treatment based on the concept of neuroprotection. A large part of the book is devoted to research related to this new approach to the treatment of glaucoma.- Describes the most recent developments on neuroprotection of the optic nerve, including experimental models now used and clinical protocols- Discusses new strategies for the prevention of neuronal injury in glaucoma patients- Focuses on evidence-based risk factors, innovative diagnostic aspects and advanced medical/surgical treatment of glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the main causes of blindness throughout the world. It is characterized by death of the retinal ganglion cells, which is associated with loss of the axons making up the optic nerve. Recent studies have demonstrated support for the classification of glaucoma as a degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), leading researchers to look at identifying neuroprotection strategies for the treatment of this disease, like those used for other degenerative diseases of the CNS. This book will provide an in-depth examination of the most recent findings regarding glaucoma, including risk factors, diagnosis, clinical monitoring, treatment, and above all, the need for treatment based on the concept of neuroprotection. A large part of the book is devoted to research related to this new approach to the treatment of glaucoma. Describes the most recent developments on neuroprotection of the optic nerve, including experimental models now used and clinical protocols Discusses new strategies for the prevention of neuronal injury in glaucoma patients Focuses on evidence-based risk factors, innovative diagnostic aspects and advanced medical/surgical treatment of glaucoma

Biochemistry of Characterised Neurons provides a report on the progress made in the analysis of the biology of specific neurons in the central nervous system. This book emphasizes the biochemical, morphological, and functional aspects of characterized neurons, including ways and sophisticated techniques of isolating them. This publication is divided into 11 chapters. The first chapter evaluates the relevance of working with single neurons. Chapters 2 to 6 discuss specific, characterized, invertebrate neurons containing one of the putative neurotransmitter substances. Chapter 7 deals with the biochemistry of a unique vertebrate (Torpedo) cholinergic system that enables pure cholinergic neuronal cell bodies and endings to be analyzed separately. The sensitive radiochemical procedures used to analyze transmitter substances and transmitter enzymes, and how they can be adapted to map the distribution of transmitters in individual neurons of Aplysia, are discussed in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 describes methods for the analysis of specific cells in the retina, while Chapters 10 and 11 focus on the analysis of proteins within defined neurons. This text is beneficial to biochemists and students interested in analyzing neurons.

Dale''s Principle and Communication Between Neurones is based on a colloquium of the Neurochemical Group of the Biochemical Society, held at Oxford University, July 1982. This book focuses on communication between neurones by means of chemical signals. The book contains an introductory chapter by V. P. Whittaker and nine further chapters on various aspects of the chemical communication processes between neurones. Topics covered include chemical communication between excitable cells; the neuroendocrine division of the nervous system; evidence for a neurone having the capacity to use two chemicals in the same process; and non-synaptic interneuronal communication. Each article is based on the excellent lectures given by the main authors and the discussion which ensued in the one-day colloquium held in Oxford. The final chapter is a specially invited contribution by Drs. Polak and Varndell, who agreed to produce an article on their new method of localising transmitter-like molecules at the electron-microscopic level.

Microchemical Analysis of Nervous Tissue focuses on the use of microbiochemical methods in the analysis of nervous tissue, with emphasis on those related to the study of amines, amino acids, phospholipids, and proteins. Special attention is paid to the choice of biological material and the various procedures used for the isolation by dissection of defined components of the nervous system. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of microprocedures used in neurochemistry, followed by a discussion on the importance of choosing the biological material for microanalysis. The isolation of nervous tissue for analysis is then considered, with particular reference to invertebrate neurons; cell components from fresh, "fixed," freeze-dried, and frozen impregnated tissue; and discrete areas of nervous tissue. Subsequent chapters describe some instruments and glassware used in microprocedures, along with the applications of such procedures; general techniques used in microprocedures; microdetermination of phospholipids as well as amines and amino acids as dansyl derivatives; and microelectrophoresis of proteins. This book will be of interest to molecular biologists, microbiologists, physiologists, and neurochemists.

This book contains up-dated versions of articles which proved very popular when first published in Neurochemistry International. The articles draw attention to developments in a specific field perhaps unfamiliar to the reader, collating observations from a wide area which seem to point in a new direction, giving the author''s personal view on a controversial topic, or directing soundly based criticism at some widely held dogma or widely used technique in the neurosciences.

The relatively simple, stratified nature of the retina and its spe- fied use in the visual process has long made it an inviting tissue to study both for its own sake and as a model for the more complex processes of the brain. For these dual purposes, the retina can be thought of as basically consisting of two functional pans. First, the outer retina, comprised of the photoreceptor cells and attendant pigment epithelium, serves to capture the photic energy and convert it into a neurochemical response. Second, the inner layers of the retina, mainly bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells (and their attendant Maller cells), function more clearly as a typical part of the CNS, transmitting the photic signals to the brain. Between the 8th and 12th of August 1988 more than seventy scientists from allover the world gathered in Oldenburg (Federal Republic of Gennany) for a meeting "The neurobiology of the inner retina" which was devoted entirely to the neural mechanism of the inner synaptic layer of the verte­ brate retina. The meeting comprised twenty - three separate lectures and four specially arranged discussion groups. In addition, a number of posters were displayed and a period was allotted specifically for the discussion of these posters. The articles contained in this book will serve as a record of the papers delivered at the Oldenburg Meeting and illustrate the advances made in trying to understand the importance of the diversity of amacrine cell morphology and physiology in retinal function.