Advances in Research on Neurodegeneration

We organized the Seventh International Winter Conference on Neurodegeneration and Neuroinflammation in a small town of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture in Japan on January 20 to 22, 1999. Karuizawa is a nice summer as well as winter resort close to the place for winter Olympic game in the year of 1998. Over 40 scientists gathered together and made hot discussion. Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are two major and important neurologic disorders, in which satisfactory neuroprotective and neurorestorative treatment is not available yet. For this purpose, understanding of molecular mechanisms of neuronal cell death in these two disorders is imperative. Recently, pathologic processes common to these two groups of disorders have been identified such as the involvement of inflammatory changes, microglia, cytokines, and apoptosis. We intended to involve scientists working in these two major fields together to participate in hot and fruitful discussion for the understanding of neuronal death and for developing newer methods of treatment. The science is progressing so rapidly today and we are working in a very narrow specialized area. Sometimes, we are ignorant about important discoveries in other fields. This conference was a nice opportunity for scien­ tists working different areas to meet together and to exchange their experi­ ence. This volume is the proceedings of this Winter Conference.

Huntington disease: insights on the role of huntingtin cleavage.- PARKIN as a pathogenic gene for autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism.- Autosomal-dominantly inherited forms of Parkinson's disease.- Role of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein in spinal muscular atrophy.- Subcellular localization of ?-synuclein in primary neuronal cultures: effect of missense mutations.- Roles of A? and carboxyl terminal peptide fragments of amyloid precursor protein in Alzheimer disease.- Iron chelating, antioxidant and cytoprotective properties of dopamine receptor agonist; apomorphine.- The motor circuit of the human basal ganglia reconsidered.- Involvement of endogenous N-methyl(R)salsolinol in Parkinson's disease: induction of apoptosis and protection by (-)deprenyl.- The myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG): a model for antibody-mediated demyelination in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis.- Role of caspase-1 sub-family in cytotoxic cytokine-induced oligodendrocyte cell death.- Cytokines in Parkinson's disease.- Apoptosis as a general cell death pathway in neurodegenerative diseases.- Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA).- Gene therapy of Parkinson's disease using Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors.- Mechanisms of tissue injury in multiple sclerosis: opportunities for neuroprotective therapy.- Optic-spinal form of multiple sclerosis and immune-mediated myelopathy in Japan.