Over a half million people each year suffer brain-damaging injuries and diseases--but the outlook for their eventual recovery is far more hopeful than it was just a short while ago. In Brain Repair, three internationally renowned neuroscientists team up to offer an intriguing and up-to-the-minute introduction to the explosive advances being made in the research, technology, and treatment of brain damage. The key to neuroscience's most exciting discoveries to date is a theory that is rapidly gaining adherents in the scientific community--the theory of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity stresses that cells throughout the brain can not only regenerate, but can adapt their function to assume critical roles once performed by damaged tissue. In clear, accessible language, the authors show us that the brain manufactures a host of complex chemicals that actually foster growth in damaged brain cells. We visit the laboratories where researchers are untangling the mystery of Parkinson's disease and trying to understand what goes wrong in stroke victims, and why some, thought permanently impaired, show remarkable improvements. In addition, they discuss how even today misguided ideas can adversely affect how physicians treat patients. And, along the way, they detail the fascinating history of how brain structure and functioning has been understood and studied, from prehistoric times to the present. A best-selling volume in France and Mexico, Brain Repair provides a vividly written, wide-ranging look at the leading edge of one of science's most exciting frontiers.

Increasing evidence identifies the possibility of restoring function to the damaged brain via exogenous therapies. One major target for these advances is stroke, where most patients can be left with significant disability. Treatments have the potential to improve the victim's quality of life significantly and reduce the time and expense of rehabilitation. Brain Repair After Stroke reviews the biology of spontaneous brain repair after stroke in animal models and in humans. Detailed chapters cover the many forms of therapy being explored to promote brain repair and consider clinical trial issues in this context. This book provides a summary of the neurobiology of innate and treatment-induced repair mechanisms after hypoxia and reviews the state of the art for human therapeutics in relation to promoting behavioral recovery after stroke. Essential reading for stroke physicians, neurologists, rehabilitation physicians and neuropsychologists.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the developme

Brain Repair, addresses all relevant issues underlying the mechanisms of brain damage, brain plasticity and post-traumatic reorganisation after CNS lesions. This book is divided the three major sections that follow; cellular and molecular basis of brain repair, plasticity and reorganisation of neural networks, and experimental therapy strategies. Brain Repair is written by high profile, international experts who describe in detail the newest results from basic research and highlight new model systems, techniques and therapy approaches. Based on a careful analysis of the cellular and molecular reaction patterns of the CNS to lesions, the contributions cover possibilities for endogenous reorganisation and repair as well as exciting new therapies emerging from basic research, some of which have already been introduced into the clinics. Thus, this book is unique in bridging the gap between basic and clinical research. It will be a valuable tool for all students, researchers and clinicians interested in understanding the brain's capacity to cope with lesions and interested in learning about emerging new therapy concepts.

New Therapeutics for Traumatic Brain Injury: Prevention of Secondary Brain Damage and Enhancement of Repair and Regeneration explores traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of death and disability throughout the world. The delayed nature of the secondary injury phase suggests that there is a therapeutic window for pharmacological interventions or other approaches to prevent progressive tissue damage and improve functional outcomes. It is now apparent that therapeutic interventions should entail both protective and repair/regeneration strategies depending on the phase of brain injury. This book describes emerging experimental strategies for the treatment of TBI, including new anti-inflammatory or anti-apoptotic therapeutics that limit brain damage, and novel or repurposed drugs that enhance repair or regeneration of the brain after injury. Comprehensive overview of basic approaches and translational development of new therapies for TBI Edited by a prominent TBI researcher that includes contributions by leading global researchers in the field Presents a great resource for researchers and practitioners to learn more about the many evolving preclinical studies and clinical trials currently underway, and the challenges of bringing translational studies in TBI to the clinic

Your brain can heal. According to conventional medical wisdom, each person is born with a fixed number of brain cells. Until the last 15-20 years, neuroscientists believed that the brain did not have the ability to heal; it could not repair itself or grow new cells. So if any brain cells were damaged, they were permanently lost. However, recent research has proved that the brain can create new cells (neurogenesis) as well as new pathways (synaptogenesis) throughout life. This book written by world-renowned speaker and neurofeedback specialist, Dr. Ben Galyardt, explains this process and more.

This book builds a novel bridge from molecular research to clinical therapy. This approach reveals the functional features of neurons and glia in the particular context of vulnerability and self-protection, intracellular properties and extracellular matrix. Arising from this platform, this volume unfolds the molecular and systemic processes underlying migration disorders, axonal injury, repair and regeneration.

A scientist assesses the potential of stem cell therapies for treating such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Stem cell therapies are the subject of enormous hype, endowed by the media with almost magical qualities and imagined by the public to bring about miracle cures. Stem cells have the potential to generate new cells of different types, and have been shown to do so in certain cases. Could stem cell transplants repair the damaged brain? In this book, neurobiologist Jack Price assesses the potential of stem cell therapies to treat such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries. Certainly brain disorders are in need of effective treatments. These disorders don't just kill, they disable, and conventional drug therapies have not had much success in treating them. Price explains that repairing the human brain is difficult, largely because of its structural, functional, and developmental complexity. He examines the self-repairing capacity of blood and gut cells—and the lack of such capacity in the brain; describes the limitations of early brain stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative disorders; and discusses current clinical trials that may lead to the first licensed stem cell therapies for stroke, Parkinson's and macular degeneration. And he describes the real promise of pluripotential stem cells, which can make all the cell types that constitute the body. New technologies, Price reports, challenge the very notion of cell transplantation, instead seeking to convince the brain itself to manufacture the new cells it needs. Could this be the true future of brain repair?

In the rapidly-evolving landscape of neurosciences, it is no easy task to select a limited array of topics to present in a text such as this. The current volume takes as its purpose to provide a representative survey of the current science of brain repair for those seeking to establish a foundation in the field or to replenish a prior knowledge base that may have lapsed in its currency. It also hopes to offer insights into what remains elusive to our collective investigations, defining the “frontiers” of brain repair for those that are currently immersed in the exciting intersection of biological advances and neuroscientific discoveries. In Chapter 1 the fundamentals of imaging transplanted cells is discussed with emphasis on animal models as well as the horizon for clinical trials. Then, detailed methods on the culture of neural stem cells is reviewed as a foundation for approaching therapeutic goals. Chapter 3 presents the broad scope of animal models that serve as the foundation for developmental and pre-clinical investigation, with mention of recent genetically engineered mouse models that represent the best models for studying disease development and treatment. Chapter 4 provides background on the delivery techniques to animals and patients that are available, providing vital information on the subtleties of technique necessary for optimal cellular grafting. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss new and evolving information on the origins of brain tumors and the indelible role of stromal and microenvironmental influences on oncogenesis and tumor progression. Subsequently, the utility of neural stem cells as cellular vehicles to deliver chemotherapeutics to broad neuropathology is reviewed. In Chapter 8 the scope of treating brain tumors is expanded beyond stem cells, to present the best biological interventions to improve upon current treatment options for brain malignancy. The last two chapters present a comprehensive review on stem cell and gene therapy options for treating cerebrovascular and neurovascular pathology. In amassing this collection, my intention has been to provide the reader with a broad introduction into molecular imaging, stem cell biology, cell therapy, animal models, central nervous system malignancies, stroke, and neurodegeneration. My hope is that Frontiers of Brain Repair will be the intellectual soil from which a deeply rooted and well-nourished vintage of neuroscience will arise.