Brain diseases can have a large impact on patients and society, and treatment is often not available. A new approach in which somatic cells are reprogrammed into induced pluripotent cells (iPS cells) is a significant breakthrough for regenerative medicine. This promises patient-specific tissue for replacement therapies, as well as disease-specific cells for developmental modeling and drug treatment screening. However, this method faces issues of low reprogramming efficiency, and poorly defined criteria for determining the conversion of one cell type to another. Cells contain epigenetic “memories” of what they were that can affect reprogramming. This book discusses the various methods to reprogram cells, the control and determination of cell identity, the epigenetic models that have emerged and the application of iPS cell therapy for brain diseases, in particular Parkinson’s disease and Vanishing White Matter (VWM).​

"Pluripotent stem cells have garnered tremendous interest in recent years, which is primarily driven by the hope of finding a cure for several debilitating human diseases. Cell transplantation (regeneratve medicine) offers considerable therapeutic potentia"

This book explores the potential of stem cells for ameliorating the quality of life of patients with neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. It discusses results of pre-clinical investigations and case studies on the effects of stem cell transplantation on cell death, as well as to promote/stimulate neuroprotection after brain and spinal cord

This book contains a compendium of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) articles and reviews concerning state of the art technologies and how they are being applied to human neurodevelopmental disorders. With the establishment of effective technologies to produce iPSCs and their derivatives, like neural precursors, neurons, and glia, researchers have new platforms to study neurodevelopmental disorders. iPSC technology enables researchers to study how human neurons develop in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, providing an unparalleled opportunity to investigate their etiology. In turn, researchers have now begun to understand the underlying molecular and cellular pathways that contribute to human diseases. iPSCs technologies also provide an emerging tool for future translational studies and disease classification. The chapters will emphasize how among the diverse idiopathic and genetic disorders, there are common clinical as well as cellular and molecular phenotypes.

Stem Cells in Neurotoxicology, Volume Twelve in the Advances in Neurotoxicology series, presents interesting chapters written by an international board of authors. Chapters in this new release include Brain organoids as a translational model of human developmental neurotoxicity, Self-organizing human neuronal cultures in the modeling of environmental impacts on learning and intelligence, Utilization of human stem cell/neural progenitor tests to examine neurotoxic impacts on differentiation, Characterization of neuronal and other cellular sub-types in human stem cell cortical neuron differentiations, Utility of human stem cell models to study persistent neurotoxicity, and Utility of human stem cell models to study chronic neurotoxicity. - Provides the latest information on Neurotoxicology - Offers outstanding and original reviews on Neurotoxicology - Serves as an indispensable reference for researchers and students alike

This book represents the third in a series of International Conferences related to Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. The first one took place in Eilat, Israel, in 1985; and the second one in Kyoto, Japan, in 1989. This book contains the full text of oral and poster presentations from the Third International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Recent Developments, held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on November 1-6, 1993. The Chicago Conference was attended by 270 participants. The Scientific Program was divided into nine oral sessions, a keynote presentation, and a poster session. The conference culminated in a Round Table Discussion involving all of the participants in the conference. The four and one-half day meeting served as an excellent medium for surveying the current status of clinical and preclinical developments in AD and PD. There were 59 oral presentations and 93 posters. This book incorporates a majority of both.