Brain, Vol. 124, No. 8, 1673-1675,
August 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press
Book reviews |
NEURAL TRANSPLANTATION: AN INTRODUCTION
NEURAL REPAIR, TRANSPLANTATION AND REHABILITATION.
By William J. Freed. 2000. London: MIT Press. Price £37.50. Pp. 459. ISBN 0-26206-208-9.
By Roger A. Barker and Stephen B. Dunnett. 1999. Hove: Psychology Press. Price £34.95. Pp. 339 ISBN 0-86377-628-0.
Neurosurgical Clinic, Nordstadt Hospital, Hannover, Germany
These two books introduce the reader to the exciting and fascinating field of brain repair—a field which has substantially influenced both basic science and clinical research of the nervous system over the past 20 years. Unlike the peripheral nervous system, the brain and spinal cord have only very limited self-renewing capacity following acute or chronic disease processes. Degeneration of neurones in the central nervous system due to acute or chronic illnesses, e.g. trauma, stroke or neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. Parkinson's or Huntington's disease, leads to a loss of function that is currently not amenable to successful restoration by intrinsic brain repair mechanisms and/or therapeutic interventions such as medication and brain surgery. In this respect, neural transplantation holds great potential to promote structural repair and functional recovery within the central nervous system. The basic concept is the replacement of degenerated cells by the implantation of new cells that repopulate damaged brain areas