Neuroglia in the Aging Brain [Hardcover]

A distinguished panel of internationally recognized neuroscientists comprehensively review the involvement of and changes in glial cells both during the normal aging process and in the major disorders of old age. Topics range from the cellular and molecular changes that occur with aging-especially aging-associated activation of astrocytes and microglia and its relation to neuronal injury and repair-to neuron-glia intercommunication. The contributors show how glial signals may be modulated by hormones, growth factors, neurotransmitters, intracellular metabolism, and intercellular exchanges, as well as by aging of the blood-brain barrier.A distinguished panel of internationally recognized neuroscientists comprehensively review the involvement of and changes in glial cells both during the normal aging process and in the major disorders of old age. Topics range from the cellular and molecular changes that occur with aging-especially aging-associated activation of astrocytes and microglia and its relation to neuronal injury and repair-to neuron-glia intercommunication. The contributors show how glial signals may be modulated by hormones, growth factors, neurotransmitters, intracellular metabolism, and intercellular exchanges, as well as by aging of the blood-brain barrier.Part I. Cellular and Molecular Changes of Aged and Reactive AstrocytesNeuromorphological Changes in Neuronal and Neuroglial Populations of the Cerebral Cortex in the Aging Rat: Neurochemical CorrelationsMaria Angeles Peinado, Manuel Martinez, Maria Jesus Ramirez, Adoracion Quesada, Juan Angel Pedrosa, Concepcion Iribar, and Jose Maria PeinadoDiversity in Reactive AstrocytesSudarshan K. Malhotra and Theodor K. ShnitkaAstrocytic Reaction After Traumatic Brain InjuryJes?s Boya, J. L. Calvo, Angel L?pez-Carbonell, and Jos? E. Garc?a-Mauri?oPart II. Neuron-Glia IntercommunicationAstrocytes In Situ Exhibit Functional Neurotransmitter ReceptorsMarilee K. Shelton and Ken D. McCarthyGlia and Extracellular Space l£§