Cell transplantation to the brain and spinal cord is a well-established research tool for studies on cellular and molecular mechanisms, but can it be developed into a useful therapuetic approach in human neurological disorders? Clinical trials in patients with Parkinson's disease have provided encouraging evidence, however, no treatment based on transplantation is available yet. An overview of current research is given in this book. It summarizes the status of grafting in humans and discusses scientific problems that have to be solved before intracerebral transplantation can become a...

Axonal growth is now commonly recognized as one of the basic mechanisms underlying neuronal plasticity and reorganization in the adult mammalian CNS, not least in response to traumatic lesions. The monoaminergic neurons-cate cholamine (CA)1-containing and indolamine (IA)-containing ones-in the adult rat brain have previously been shown to possess a high capacity for axonal growth and sprouting, both from their proximal axon stumps after axonal transection (Katzman et al., 1971; Bjorklund et al., 1971 c) and from their intact axons after partial denervations of different terminal regions...