This important text will be the first devoted to a detailed analysis of immunotherapy as it ap-plies to Type I diabetes and the pathogenesis and therapy of other specific autoimmune diseases (including uveitis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Cogan's syndrome, Graves' ophthalmopathy, and gonadal disorders).
The book Immunopathogenesis and Immune-Based Therapy for Selected Autoimmune Disorders is a synthesis work that discusses two main aspects of autoimmunity: Immunopathogenesis and therapeutic approaches essentially based on the immunotherapies. This book deals with different topics on a number of autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes, autoimmune cardiomyopathy, autoimmunity of gastrointestinal tract, systemic sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis. This book will be useful to clinicians, biologists, researchers, teachers, and students who are interested in immunology and immunopathology.
Recent national, European and international diabetes meetings have seen controversial discussions on the potential benefit and also on ethical aspects of immune intervention in patients with Type 1 diabetes or in persons with a high risk of developing the disease.
Autoimmune diseases are diverse and responsible for considerable morbidity. Their etiology remains largely unknown, and current therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs is prone to adverse effects, and rarely curative. New therapies with anti-cytokine antibodies or receptors are promising, but require frequent administration of expensive protein drugs. Gene Therapy of Autoimmune Diseases comprehensively reviews research in gene therapy for autoimmune diseases with viral or non-viral vectors. Gene therapy offers the possibility of long-term, continuous delivery of a wide variety of immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, or tolerance-inducing agents. Moreover, highly specific genetically modified cells can be produced. This book discusses the most promising avenues in this exciting new field.
First published in 1943, Vitamins and Hormones is the longest-running serial published by Academic Press. The Series provides up-to-date information on vitamin and hormone research spanning data from molecular biology to the clinic. A volume can focus on a single molecule or on a disease that is related to vitamins or hormones. A hormone is interpreted broadly so that related substances, such as transmitters, cytokines, growth factors and others can be reviewed. This volume focuses on the pancreatic beta cell. - Expertise of the contributors - Coverage of a vast array of subjects - In depth current information at the molecular to the clinical levels - Three-dimensional structures in color - Elaborate signaling pathways
This important text will be the first devoted to a detailed analysis of immunotherapy as it applies to Type I diabetes and the pathogenesis and therapy of other specific autoimmune diseases (including uveitis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Cogan's syndrome, Graves' ophthalmopathy, and gonadal disorders).
The incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (100M) varies dramatically across racial groups and countries, with annual age-adjusted rates of approximately 40/100,000 per year in Finland, but only 0.51100,000 per year in China. Although reasons for these marked geographic differences are unknown, it is likely that genetic variations across populations play a m~or role. To determine the contribution of genetic factors to the global patterns of 100M incidence, international comparative studies are now being undertaken as part of the WHO Multinational Project for Childhood Oiabetes, known as the DIAMOND Project. It is, therefore, necessary to develop and implement epidemiologic standards for these investigations which can be applied across populations. This will ensure that comparable data are obtained in all countries, and that relevant scientific questions can be properly addressed. The development of standards for molecular epidemiologic studies of 100M is the of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop. During this meeting at the objective University of Pittsburgh, scientists from across the world convened to discuss issues relating to the standardization of: 1. the collection of family history data to assess the risk of 100M in first degree relatives, 2. case-control molecular epidemiology studies of 100M susceptibility, 3. HLA family studies, 4. laboratory methods and ONA technology transfer for genetic marker evaluations.
In 1956, three groups independently reported evidence that some thyroid disease appearing spontaneously in humans or experimentally induced in animals are related to autoimmune processes. The interval between these landmark discoveries and the present has witnessed a remarkable and continuing growth of both knowledge and concepts concerning the mechanisms of immune regulation, the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases, and their clinical and laboratory manifestations. More importantly knowledge of thyroid autoimmunity has, in many respects, comprised the vanguard of an ever increasing appreciation and understanding of autoimmune diseases in general. On November 24-26 1986, an International Symposium on Thyroid Autoimmunity was held in Pisa. Its purpose was to commemorate the birth of thyroid autoimmunity as a scientific discipline, to summarize current knowledge and concepts in this area, and where possible, to anticipate areas of opportunity for the future - hence the theme of the Symposium, Memories and Perspectives. To open the meeting, the Magnifico Rettore (Chancellor) of the University of Pisa granted special Awards to Dr. Deborah Doniach, Dr. Ivan Roitt, and Dr. Noel R. Rose, who published the first fundamental studies in the field of thyroid autoimmunity, and to Dr. Duncan G. Adams, whose discovery of the long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS) opened the door to our current understanding of the pathogenesis of Graves' disease. During the meeting thirty plenary lectures were presented.
