Cytomegaloviruses From Molecular Pathogenesis To Intervention (volume Ii) [Hardcover]

Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) - a member of the herpesvirus family - is an underrated health risk. A low public awareness results from the relatively mild symptoms it causes in otherwise healthy people whose immune systems are intact, with primary infection usually going unnoticed. During pregnancy, however, transmission from the mother to the fetus is currently the most frequent viral cause of birth defects with lifelong neurological sequelae, sensorineural hearing loss in particular. People at risk also include the growing number of immune compromised patients requiring either a solid organ graft or receiving a hematopoietic cell graft for the treatment of hematopoietic malignancies that are refractory to standard therapies. Under the condition of weakened immune surveillance in these patients, latent CMV hidden in transplanted donor cells or in the recipients' own tissues can awake to cause a destructive infection resulting in graft loss and multiple end-organ disease, of which viral pneumonia is the most feared. This two volume work is an updated and upgraded second edition of Cytomegaloviruses: Molecular Biology and Immunology (2006). The second edition's title - Cytomegaloviruses: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Intervention - reflects its expanded commitment not only to cover cutting edge basic science, but also to include the translation of this to clinical science. In an interdisciplinary approach to understanding CMV disease and outlining options for prevention and treatment, leading international experts provide comprehensive and authoritative reviews on literally every aspect of current research with an unprecedented completeness, integrating research on human CMV and insights gained from experimental animal models. With contributions from over 100 authors, the topics covered in the 46 chapters range from the most contemporary systems biology 'omics' views on virus-host interaction to considerations of the health and economic impact of CMV disease for evalulCI