Blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown leading to cerebral edema occurs in many brain diseases such as trauma, stroke, inflammation, infection, and tumors and is an important factor in the mortality arising from these con- tions. Despite the importance of the BBB in the pathogenesis of these diseases, the molecular mechanisms occurring at the BBB are not completely und- stood. In the last decade a number of molecules have been identified not only in endothelial cells, but also in astrocytes, pericytes, and the perivascular cells that interact with endothelium to maintain cerebral homeostasis....

Opioid research is one of the multidisciplinary research areas that involve advanced techniques ranging from molecular genetics to neuropharmacology, and from behavioral neuroscience to clinical medicine. In current opioid research, it has become increasingly important to use multiple approaches at molecular, cellular, and system levels for investigations on a specific opio- related target system. That often requires understanding and applying cro- field techniques and methods for the success of one s research projects. Through its broad spectrum of coverage, Opioid Research: Methods and...

Drugs of Abuse: Neurological Reviews and Protocols is intended to provide insightful reviews of key current topics and, particularly, state-- the-art methods for examining drug actions in their various neuroanato- cal, neurochemical, neurophysiological, neuropharmacological, and molecular perspectives. The book should prove particularly useful to n- comers (graduate students and technicians) in this field, as well as to those established scientists (neuroscientists, biochemists, and molecular biologists) intending to pursue new careers or directions in the study of drugs. The book s protocols...

Viral Vectors for Gene Therapy: Methods and Protocols consists of 30 ch- ters detailing the use of herpes viruses, adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses, simple and complex retroviruses, including lentiviruses, and other virus systems for vector development and gene transfer. Chapter cont- butions provide perspective in the use of viral vectors for applications in the brain and in the central nervous system. Viral Vectors for Gene Therapy: Methods and Protocols contains step-by-step methods for successful rep- cation of experimental procedures, and should prove useful for both experienced...

During the past decade, significant progress in molecular and cellular te- niques has greatly advanced our understanding of the wound healing p- cess. Many of these new techniques have been utilized in the context of more classic models of wound healing. The combination of new and classic approaches has allowed scientists to make exciting discoveries in the field of tissue repair, resulting in an explosion of information about the healing p- cess. Importantly, these new findings have great relevance beyond wound healing itself. The injury repair process cuts across many disciplines, exte- ing...

Gene therapy has expanded rapidly over the last decade. The number of clinical trials reported by 2001 included 532 protocols and 3436 patients. Phase I trials predominate with 359 trials of 1774 patients versus Phase II (57 trials with 507 patients) and Phase III (3 trials of 251 patients). The disease overwhelmingly targeted by gene therapy is cancer: involving 331 trials with 2361 patients. Despite the somewhat disappointing results of clinical trials to date, gene therapy offers tremendous promise for the future of cancer therapy. The area of gene therapy is vast, and both malignant and...

Hemoglobin and Hemoglobinologists This volume, Hemoglobin Disorders: Molecular Methods and Protocols, will be introduced with a review of the great milestones in the field, and the scientists responsible for those achievements. The history of hemoglobin can be divided into three periods: the Classical period, the Modern period, and the Post-Modern period. I am inclined to include as the four major members of the classical period Francis Roughton, Quentin Gibson, Jeffries Wyman, and Linus Pauling, not only because of their achievements, but also because of the superb scientists they trained...

This completely revised and updated second edition to integrates the many new technologies and insights now available for the diagnosis of genetic diseases. The authors use such methodologies as PCR optimization dosage analysis, mutation scanning, and quantitative fluorescent PCR for aneuploidy analysis, Neurofibromatosis type 1, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. These largely generic methodologies may be adapted to most genetic conditions for which a molecular diagnosis is relevant, no matter how frequent or rare their incidence. Molecular Diagnosis of Genetic Diseases, Second Edition offers...

In HaemophilusiInfluenzae Protocols, leading research scientists and infectious disease specialists detail in a readily reproducible format the major molecular and immunological techniques for exploring the pathogenicity of H. influenzae. Described with step-by-instructions to ensure robust and successful experimental results, the techniques cover plasmid analysis, proteomics, genomics, DNA array technology, gene expression, mutagenesis (transposon and nontransposon), and structural analysis. These methods illuminate how the bacterium causes disease, as well as how best to develop novel...

Allergy: Methods and Protocols aims to assist the researcher in gaining insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in allergy by featuring an array of protocols. The protocols cover a range of disciplines including allergy, immunology, cell biology, and histology, and include methods to investigate the cellular response to allergens, cytokine profile, MHC restriction, and T regulatory cells.