Neuronal Degeneration and Regeneration: From Basic Mechanisms to Prospects for Therapy

Section 1 - Mechanisms of Nerve Cell Death and Nerve Cell Survival. Neuronal cell death: an updated view (L.L. Rubin). Corticosteroid hormones and neuronal vulnerability: towards identification of candidate vulnerability genes (E. Vreugdenhil, E.R. De Kloet). Ubiquitin and its role in neurodegeneration (J. Arnold et al.). Studying signal transduction in neuronal cells: the Trk/NGF system (D.R. Kaplan). Developmental changes in the neurotrophic factor survival requirements of peripheral nervous system neurons (A.M. Davies). Regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels in hippocampus by neuronal activity (E. Castrén et al.). Instructive roles of neurotrophins in synaptic plasticity (D.C. Lo). Neurotrophin receptors in Alzheimer's disease (A. Salehi et al.). Section 2 - Biological Factors that Determine Neuronal Differentiation, Axonal Growth, Guidance and Target Recognition. Discrete clusters of axonin-1 and NgCAM at neuronal contact sites: facts and speculations on the regulation (P. Sonderegger et al.). Molecular mechanisms of commissural axon pathfinding (E.T. Stoeckli). Semaphorin-mediated neuronal growth cone guidance (A.L. Kolodkin). Semaphorin III: role in neuronal development and structural plasticity (R.J. Giger et al.). Role for semaphorin III and its receptor neurophilin-1 in neuronal regeneration and scar formation? (R.J. Pasterkamp et al.). EPH receptors and ligands in axon pathway choice, target recognition, and synaptogenesis (G. Lemke). Section 3 - The Role of Glial Cells in Neurodegeneration and Regeneration. Boundary molecules during brain development, injury, and persistent neurogenesis - in vivo and in vitro studies (D.A. Steindler et al.). Cellular activation in neuroregeneration (F.-W. Schwaiger et al.). Cellular and molecular correlates of the regeneration of adult mammalian CNS axons into peripheral nerve grafts (P.N. Anderson et al.). Oligodendrocyte regeneration in the adult rodent CNS and the failure of this process in multiple sclerosis (G. Wolswijk). Genetic basis of peripheral neuropathies (L.J. Valentijn, F. Baas). Section 4 - Critical Events in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Prion Diseases and Multiple Sclerosis. Neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (H. Braak et al.). Neurofibrillary pathology of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies (M. Goedert). A new approach to the genetic analysis of nervous system diseases: retrospective genotyping of archival brains (S. Kösel et al.). Alzheimer's disease: identification of genes and genetic risk factors (C. Van Broeckhoeven). Neurodegenerative Alzheimer-like pathology in PDAPP 717V-⟩ F transgenic mice (K.S. Chen et al.). Strain dependent and invariant features of transgenic mice expressing Alzheimer amyloid precursor proteins (K. Hsiao). Reduced neuronal activity and reactivation in Alzheimer's disease (D.F. Swaab et al.). Dinucleotide deletions in neuronal transcripts: a novel type of mutation in non-familial Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome patients (E.M. Hol et al.). Pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases associated with expanded glutamine repeats: new answers, new questions (C.A. Ross et al.). Molecular studies of prion diseases (J. Safar, S.B. Prusiner). The small heat shock protein &agr;B-crystallin as key autoantigen in multiple sclerosis (J.M. Van Noort et al.). Section 5 - Strategies to Promote Regeneration of Injured Neurons: Direct Intervention and Neural Replacement. Spinal cord injury: bridging the lesion and the role of neurotrophic factors in repair (D.A. Houweling et al.). Neurotrophin gene therapy in CNS models of trauma and degeneration (A. Blesch et al.). Gene therapy for inherited neurological disorders: towards therapeutic intervention in the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (P.R. Lowenstein et al.). Towards gene therapy of neurodegenerative disease (H.J. Federoff, M. Atkinson). Prospectives for cell and gene therapy in Huntington's disease (A.-C. Bachoud-Lévi et al.).