Inflammatory Disorders of the Nervous System: Pathogenesis, Immunology, and Clinical Management

Now well recognized, the critical role of the inflammatory response in the pathophysiology of peripheral and central neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, is today the subject of intense investigation at the molecular level. In Inflammatory Disorders of the Nervous System: Pathogenesis, Immunology, and Clinical Management, a panel of influential basic scientists review in detail the fundamental biological principles underlying the more common inflammatory disorders of the nervous system. The authors provide extensive updates on the latest findings concerning the mechanisms of inflammation and introduce such new concepts and methodologies as endothelial and leukocyte microparticles and gene microarray technology to help explain important links between the central nervous system (CNS) and general inflammatory processes. Among the diseases examined from an inflammatory perspective are multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, CNS vasculitis, neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The role of the immune system in neuroinflammation is also explored in such disorders as neurosarcoidosis, HIV-associated dementia, and HTLV-associated neurological disorders. Cutting-edge and authoritative, Inflammatory Disorders of the Nervous System: Pathogenesis, Immunology, and Clinical Management offers basic research and clinical scientists an illuminating introduction to the new world of inflammatory CNS conditions and the emerging diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities they provide.