Infirmity, that decays the wise, doth ever make the better fool William.Shakespeare, Twelfth Night 1,5 Since antiquity, it has been a dream of mankind to live in eternal youth and thus to attain longevity. Gods and heroes of the myths of many European cultures were always repre sented as young. Their youth was one of their most remark able attributes, and eternal youth given to a human being from a god was the greatest act of grace. This age old dream of mankind is demonstrated very graphically in one of the most impressive paintings of the Middle Ages, the famous "Jungbrunnen" (Fountain of...

Significant progress has doubtlessly been made in the field of cere bral protection compared to earlier centuries, as recently reviewed by Elisabeth Frost (6). She cites the recommendations for treat ment of brain trauma by Areteus, a Greek physician of the second century A. D. He expressed quite modem views with regard to the need for prompt action considering complications that follow even minor symptoms. He advised burr holes for evacuation of hema toma in seizures, the use of diuretics and, most interestingly, also hypothermia. German surgeons of the 17th century had little more to offer...

At the present time several techniques are available for studying quantitatively global and regional blood flow and metabolism of the human brain. How ever, many scientists working in the clinical and research field who would like to use these tools for their investigations may be less familiar with the indi cations and limitations of the individual methods. The rapid development of both modern imaging techniques and new tracers may have led to some con fusion in answering the question as to which method is appropriate to solve the diagnostic problem of an individuum with brain disease....