Pharmacology of cerebral ischemia 2000

Abstract

Edited by J. Krieglstein & S. KlumppPublished by Medpharm Scientific Publishers, Stuttgart, 2000. Price DM 248. ISBN 3-88763-087-4 Every second year scientists in the field of pharmacology of cerebral ischaemia meet in Marburg, Germany. Over the past 14 years this meeting which lasts 3 days has acquired such a high reputation, that all leading laboratories in the field follow the invitation of Josef Kriegelstein, to present and discuss their ongoing work. The proceedings of the symposia are published shortly after each meeting as a book by Medpharm Scientific Publishers. The 51 chapters of the proceedings, each consisting of approximately 10 pages, have a special format. In every chapter one of the laboratories presents its work over the last 2 years as an overview. Some of these chapters have the character of a mini-review about their topic. Others present a series of experiments, combining the introduction into a certain issue with the presentation of basic science data. Together, these chapters represent the state of the art in the field of pharmacology of cerebral ischaemia. Looking through the eight volumes of proceedings published so far, it can be seen how the focus of research has shifted over the years. During the early years, beginning from 1986, research about calcium and NMDA antagonists played a great role. Later, studies on oxygen free radicals, platelet activating factor, adenosine and monoamine transmitters were predominant. In 1992, the hot topic was the NO-system and nerve growth factors were recognized as neuroprotectants. From 1994 on, molecular biology entered the arena, gene expression was an important topic and apoptosis was discovered as a mechanism of cell death in cerebral ischaemia. More recently, research on transgenic animals and gene therapy, cytokines and inflammatory mechanisms moved to the centre of the field. At the 8th meeting in July 2000 the most important novelties were stem cell therapy and neurogenesis. Furthermore, the volume contains excellent updates on caspases in cerebral ischaemia, cytokines as therapeutic targets in stroke and experimental insights into functional recovery after brain injury. Only a few chapters are so limited in their scope that they will not attract readers with a more general interest in cerebral ischaemia. It is to the credit of the editors that they included contributions on the problem as to why all the progress in stroke research and in neuroprotection in particular so far has not translated into the clinical availability of a single therapeutic agent. The scientific merit of the contributions must be categorized as very high. This implies that the uninitiated reader may have difficulties to fully comprehend all articles. There is no general introduction into basic mechanisms and the transition from one chapter to the next is not elaborated, every single one standing very much on its own. Therefore, the volume is more likely to be used as a reference book for active scientists to get updated on the state of a certain topic. In this respect the volume is a very efficient and valuable source of information.