Starting in the early 1970s, a type of programmed cell death called apoptosis began to receive attention. Over the next three decades, research in this area continued at an accelerated rate. In the early 1990s, a second type of programmed cell death, autophagy, came into focus. Autophagy has been studied in mammalian cells for many years. The recen

This monograph describes the progress in neuropathological HD research made during the last century, the neuropathological hallmarks of HD and their pathogenic relevance. Starting with the initial descriptions of the progressive degeneration of the striatum as one of the key events in HD, the worldwide practiced Vonsattel HD grading system of striatal neurodegeneration will be outlined. Correlating neuropathological data with results on the functional neuroanatomy of the human brain, subsequent chapters will highlight recent HD findings: the neuronal loss in the cerebral neo-and allocortex, the neurodegeneration of select thalamic nuclei, the affection of the cerebellar cortex and nuclei, the involvement of select brainstem nuclei, as well as the pathophysiological relevance of these pathologies for the clinical picture of HD. Finally, the potential pathophysiological role of neuronal huntingtin aggregations and the most important and enduring challenges of neuropathological HD research are discussed.

This book provides a cutting-edge review of polyglutamine disorders. It primarily focuses on two main aspects: (1) the mechanisms underlying the pathologies’ development and progression, and (2) the therapeutic strategies that are currently being explored to stop or delay disease progression. Polyglutamine (polyQ) disorders are a group of inherited neurodegenerative diseases with a fatal outcome that are caused by an abnormal expansion of a coding trinucleotide repeat (CAG), which is then translated in an abnormal protein with an elongated glutamine tract (Q). To date, nine polyQ disorders have been identified and described: dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA); Huntington’s disease (HD); spinal–bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA); and six spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 17). The genetic basis of polyQ disorders is well established and described, and despite important advances that have opened up the possibility of generating genetic models of the disease, the mechanisms that cause neuronal degeneration are still largely unknown and there is currently no treatment available for these disorders. Further, it is believed that the different polyQ may share some mechanisms and pathways contributing to neurodegeneration and disease progression.

This volume details a comprehensive and extensive set of protocols for the study of autophagy in vitro and in vivo. Chapters focus on mammals, various model organisms, and provide protocols for the study of autophagy-related processes outside of the canonical autophagy pathways. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Autophagy: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.