Prominent contributors address issues regarding the toxicity of aluminum which causes an encephalopathy in renal dialysis patients and is also known to damage animals and plants via acid rain. Examines the chemistry and biology of aluminum compounds focusing on the evidence for and against aluminum's role in Alzheimer's disease.
Details the application of positron emission tomography (PET) to the mapping of human cerebral cortical function. Coverage includes all aspects of PET technology. Includes chapters on somatosensory, motor and visual systems, and higher-order processes such as attention, memory, learning, intention and language. The clinical usefulness of PET is discussed in relation to psychiatric illness and to functional recovery after brain injury.
Incontinence is a very common and often devastating problem, but one that goes largely unacknowledged. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this major clinical condition, this symposium brought together neuroscientists working on the basic biology of the bladder and bowel and clinicians dealing with the various manifestations of urinary and fecal incontinence. The resulting coverage is broad and includes papers on the innervation and functional anatomy of the urinary tract and...
A comprehensive review of current thinking on the biosynthesis, function and evolution of secondary metabolites in animals, plants and microorganisms. Examines the traditional context of secondary metabolites as natural products having no obvious part to play in the producing organism's life cycle. Covers issues related to genetic and antibiotic applications.
As part of a continuing effort to tackle issues of major social concern, this 280th conference of internationally recognized experts from the fields of molecular biology, medicine, philosophy, theology, and the law looks into the scientific, legal, ethical, social, and economic issues confronting man and his ability to map and sequence the human genome. A wide variety of subjects are covered, including prenatal diagnosis, advances in the genetics of psychiatric disorders, the problems associated...
Documents the latest results and opinions on the causes and possible cures for this disorder. Coverage includes retroviral involvement, immunity, pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.
An international group of researchers addresses basic mechanism involved in the metastatic spread of tumors and considers new methods of prevention and treatment. Compares behavior of normal and abnormal cells, with emphasis on cell surface mechanisms–especially invasive processes–and inhibitors that might prevent metastasis. Also discusses determination of the metastatic genotype, the role of the immune system, and reduction of metastasis via liposome-activated macrophages.
An international group of leading investigators discuss recent progress of sensory structures in lower and higher vertebrates. Experts in two relevant fields–the cell cycle and mitogenic growth factors–present insightful contributions in the search for precursors and/or stem cells in each sense organ plus the signals which regulate those precursors' differentiation both in normal development and regeneration.
Cocaine poses interesting problems for neurophysiologists and neuropharmacologists and there is important new data on the effects of cocaine on the brain (its initial site of action at the cellular level now appearing to be the dopamine transporter). Includes chapters on the far-reaching toxic effects of cocaine, on the epidemiology and the economics of drug addiction, on the past and present use of cocaine in the U.S. and in South America, and on the moral issues raised by drug use and abuse.
Until recently a neglected disease syndrome, diarrhea is responsible for many millions of infant deaths in developing countries. The result of a 1987 symposium, this volume reflects advances in the aetiology of diarrhea while addressing such puzzling problems as the difficulty of growing viruses in a controlled setting. The volume is deliberately restricted to so-called ``novel'' diarrhea viruses and is not concerned with ``classical'' rotaviruses, which have formed the basis of previous...
Modern technology has made possible epidemiological studies that relate aspects of neonatal health to disease in adult life. This symposium is the first to draw together information from this new research area. Explores links between early growth and the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease in adult life; poor growth of babies and inadequate growth and nutrition of mothers; and levels of blood cholesterol and clotting factors. Other chapters consider the connections...