Akhlaq A. Farooqui

Neuroinflammation, Resolution, and Neuroprotection in the Brain discusses the molecular aspects of neuroinflammation in neurological disorders. The book examines the effect of diet and exercise on neuroinflammatory diseases. Chapters focus on bioactive lipids, cytokines and chemokines, as well as the involvement of neuroinflammation, resolution and neuroprotection in neurotraumatic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric diseases. The comprehensive information in this monograph will help readers understand molecular cross-talk among mediators of phospholipid, sphingolipid and cholesterol metabolism. The book's goal is to jumpstart more studies on molecular mechanisms and the therapeutic aspects of neurological disorders in human subjects.

Molecular Aspects of Neurodegeneration, Neuroprotection, and Regeneration in Neurological Disorders presents readers with comprehensive and cutting-edge information on the neurochemical mechanisms of various types of neurological disorders. The book covers information on signal transduction processes associated with neurochemistry of neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative, neurotraumatic, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The book also discusses risk factors, symptoms, pathogenesis, biomarkers, and the potential treatments of neurological disorders. The comprehensive information in this monograph may not only help in early detection of various neurological disorders, but will also promote the discovery of new drugs.

Insulin Resistance as a Risk Factor in Visceral and Neurological Disorders provides an overview on the risk factors for insulin resistance in visceral and neurological disorders. The book focuses on molecular mechanisms and signal transduction processes associated with the links. The comprehensive information in this monograph will not only help in the early detection of insulin resistance related visceral and neurological disorders, but also promote the discovery of new drugs which may block or delay onset in elderly patients. Understanding these processes is important not only for patients, caregivers and health professionals, but also for health policymakers who must plan for national resources.

Considerable progress has been made in neurochemical and therapeutic aspects of dementia research in recent years. Molecular and Therapeutic Aspects of Dementia presents readers with comprehensive and cutting-edge information on the neurochemical mechanisms of various types of dementias. It provides a clearly written and logically organized and comprehensive overview of molecular aspects of risk factors, symptoms, pathogenesis, biomarkers, and therapeutic strategies for various types of dementia. This book is written for the international audience of neurochemists, neuroscientists, neurologists, neuropharmacologists, and clinicians. The hope is that this discussion will not only integrate and consolidate knowledge in this field, but will jumpstart more studies on molecular mechanisms and therapeutic aspects of dementia. The comprehensive information in this monograph may not only help in early detection of various types of dementia and dementia linked neurological disorders, but also promote discovery of new drugs, which may block or delay the onset of dementia in elderly patients. Understanding the course of dementia is important not only for patients, caregivers, and health professionals, but also for health policy-makers, who have to plan for national resources needed in the management of an increasing number of dementia cases.

This is the first book on the market that explores the importance of curcumin for the treatment of neurological disorders. It has been estimated that 35.6 million people globally had dementia in 2010 and the prevalence of dementia has been predicted to double every 20 years. Thus, 115.4 million people may be living with dementia in 2050. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and is present in 60%–70% of people with dementia. Unless new discoveries are made in the prevention or treatment of AD, the number of cases in the US alone is estimated to increase threefold, to 13.2 million by the year 2050. Thus, it is important to focus on delaying and treating the onset of AD by curcumin may be an important step for controlling AD. Regular consumption of healthy diet containing curcumin enriched foods, moderate exercise, and regular sleep may produce beneficial effects not only on motor and cognitive functions, but also on memory deficits that occur to some extent during normal aging and to a large extent in AD. Delaying the onset and progression of AD and improving its symptoms by few years with regular consumption of curcumin may relieve some of the burden on health care systems. In service of this goal, this volume gives readers a comprehensive and cutting edge description of the importance of curcumin for the treatment of AD in cell culture and animal models in a manner that is useful not only to students and teachers but also to researchers, dietitians, nutritionists and physicians. It can be used as supplement text for a range of neuroscience and nutrition courses. Clinicians, neuroscientists, neurologists and pharmacologists will find this book useful for understanding molecular aspects of AD treatment by curcumin.

Ischemic and Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries: Mechanisms and Potential Therapies presents readers with comprehensive and cutting-edge information on molecular mechanisms, including the signal transduction processes associated with neurodegeneration and neuroprotection in ischemic, spinal cord, severe and mild brain injuries. The book also covers the molecular mechanisms of drugs used for the treatment of neurotraumatic disease. Chapters are organized by molecular aspects and neuroprotective strategies by disease, including ischemic injury, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The book integrates and consolidates knowledge on neurotraumatic diseases, with the hope of bringing forth more dramatic advances and developments, not only on molecular mechanisms, but also on the causes of, and treatments for, neurotraumatic diseases.

Neurochemical Aspects of Alzheimer's Disease provides a comprehensive overview of molecular aspects of risk factors, pathogenesis, biomarkers, and therapeutic strategies. The book focuses on molecular mechanisms and signal transduction processes associated with the pathogenesis, biomarkers, and therapeutic strategies of AD. The comprehensive and cutting edge information in this monograph may not only help in early detection of AD, but also promote discovery of new drugs to treat this chronic disease. Chapters discuss involvement of neural membrane phospholipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol-derived lipid mediators, abnormal APP processing, and nucleic acid damage, risk factors, biomarker, and therapeutic strategies of Alzheimer's disease. This book is written for neurologists, neuroscientists, neurochemists, neuropharmacologists, and clinicianswho are interested in molecular mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of age-related neurological disorders.

The purpose of this monograph is to present readers with a comprehensive and cutting edge description of neurochemical effects of diet (beneficial and harmful effects) in normal human brain and to discuss how present day diet promotes pathogenesis of stroke, AD, PD, and depression in a manner that is useful not only to students and teachers but also to researchers, dietitians, nutritionists and physicians. A diet in sufficient amount and appropriate macronutrients is essential for optimal health of human body tissues. In brain, over-nutrition, particularly with high-calorie diet, not only alters cellular homeostasis, but also results in changes in the intensity of signal transduction processes in reward centers of the brain resulting in food addiction. Over-nutrition produces detrimental effects on human health in general and brain health in particular because it chronically increases the systemic and brain inflammation and oxidative stress along with induction of insulin resistance and leptin resistance in the brain as well as visceral organs. Onset of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress not only leads to obesity and heart disease, but also promotes type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which are risk factors for both acute neural trauma (stroke) and chronic age-related neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorders, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD) and depression.

Unless new discoveries are made in the prevention or treatment of stroke, Alzheimer's Disease and depression, the number of patients with these diseases is sure to increase dramatically by the year 2050. Thus, developing strategies to retard or delay the onset of stroke, AD and depression these neurological disorders is of critical important. The present monograph will provide current and comprehensive information on the relationship between neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in age-related neurological disorders at the molecular level. The information described in this monograph on lifestyle (diet and exercise), genes and age is intended to facilitate and promote new discoveries for the treatment of age-related neurological disorders.

This is the first book on the market that explores the importance of curcumin for the treatment of neurological disorders. It has been estimated that 35.6 million people globally had dementia in 2010 and the prevalence of dementia has been predicted to double every 20 years. Thus, 115.4 million people may be living with dementia in 2050. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and is present in 60%–70% of people with dementia. Unless new discoveries are made in the prevention or treatment of AD, the number of cases in the US alone is estimated to increase threefold, to 13.2 million by the year 2050. Thus, it is important to focus on delaying and treating the onset of AD by curcumin may be an important step for controlling AD. Regular consumption of healthy diet containing curcumin enriched foods, moderate exercise, and regular sleep may produce beneficial effects not only on motor and cognitive functions, but also on memory deficits that occur to some extent during normal aging and to a large extent in AD. Delaying the onset and progression of AD and improving its symptoms by few years with regular consumption of curcumin may relieve some of the burden on health care systems. In service of this goal, this volume gives readers a comprehensive and cutting edge description of the importance of curcumin for the treatment of AD in cell culture and animal models in a manner that is useful not only to students and teachers but also to researchers, dietitians, nutritionists and physicians. It can be used as supplement text for a range of neuroscience and nutrition courses. Clinicians, neuroscientists, neurologists and pharmacologists will find this book useful for understanding molecular aspects of AD treatment by curcumin.

Metabolic syndrome as an important risk factor for stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression presents readers with cutting edge and comprehensive information on relationship among metabolic syndrome, stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression. It is hoped that this monograph will be useful to postgraduate students, faculty, research scientists, pharmacologists, nutritionists, and physicians, who are curious about the molecular mechanisms that link metabolic syndrome with stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression.

The purpose of this monograph is to present readers with a comprehensive and cutting edge description of neurochemical effects of diet (beneficial and harmful effects) in normal human brain and to discuss how present day diet promotes pathogenesis of stroke, AD, PD, and depression in a manner that is useful not only to students and teachers but also to researchers, dietitians, nutritionists and physicians. A diet in sufficient amount and appropriate macronutrients is essential for optimal health of human body tissues. In brain, over-nutrition, particularly with high-calorie diet, not only alters cellular homeostasis, but also results in changes in the intensity of signal transduction processes in reward centers of the brain resulting in food addiction. Over-nutrition produces detrimental effects on human health in general and brain health in particular because it chronically increases the systemic and brain inflammation and oxidative stress along with induction of insulin resistance and leptin resistance in the brain as well as visceral organs. Onset of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress not only leads to obesity and heart disease, but also promotes type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which are risk factors for both acute neural trauma (stroke) and chronic age-related neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorders, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD) and depression.

Diet and exercise have long been recognized as important components of a healthy lifestyle, as they have a great impact on improving cardiovascular and cerebrovascular functions, lowering the risk of metabolic disorders, and contributing to healthy aging. As a greater proportion of the world’s population is living longer, there has been increased interest in understanding the role of nutrition and exercise in long-term neurological health and cognitive function. Diet and Exercise in Cognitive Function and Neurological Diseases discusses the role and impact that nutrition and activity have on cognitive function and neurological health. The book is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on diet and its impact on neurobiological processes. Chapters focus on the impacts of specific diets, such as the Mediterranean, ketogenic and vegan diets, as well as the role of specific nutrients, fats, fatty acids, and calorie restriction on neurological health and cognitive function. The second section of the book focuses on exercise, and its role in maintaining cognitive function, reducing neuroinflammatory responses, regulating adult neurogenesis, and healthy brain aging. Other chapters look at the impact of exercise in the management of specific neurological disorders such Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease. Diet and Exercise in Cognitive Function and Neurological Diseases is a timely reference on the neurobiological interplay between diet and exercise on long-term brain health and cognitive function.

Lipid Mediators and Their Metabolism in the Brain presents readers with cutting edge and comprehensive information not only on the synthesis and degradation of glycerophospholipid-, sphingolipid-, and cholesterol-derived lipid mediators, but also their involvement in neurological disorders. It is hoped that this monograph will be useful not only to postgraduate student and their teachers, but also to research scientists and physicians, who are curious about the generation and roles of lipid mediators in the brain.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the deficiency of n-3 fatty acids in diet is not only associated with cardiovascular diseases, but also involved in stroke, epilepsy and other neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and peroxisomal diseases. In his newest book, Beneficial Effects of Fish Oil on Human Brain, Dr. Akhlaq A. Farooqui expands on the status and therapeutic importance of n-3 fatty acids (major components of fish oil) and their mediators in normal brain and those with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Farooqui presents the benefits of n-3 fatty acids on Western diet, which is enriched in n-6 fatty acids (major components of vegetable oil) and may promote the above neurological disorders. The book will present readers with cutting edge and comprehensive information on metabolism and roles of neural membrane n-3 fatty acids.

Collectively, neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by chronic and progressive loss of neurons in discrete areas of the brain, producing debilitating symptoms such as dementia, loss of memory, loss of sensory or motor capability, decreased overall quality of life eventually leading to premature death. Two types of cell death are known to occur during neurodegeneration: (a) apoptosis and (b) necrosis. The necrosis is characterized by the passive cell swelling, intense mitochondrial damage with rapid loss of ATP, alterations in neural membrane permeability, high calcium influx, and disruption of ion homeostasis. This type of cell death leads to membrane lysis and release of intracellular components that induce inflammatory reactions. Necrotic cell death normally occurs at the core of injury site. In contrast, apoptosis is an active process in which caspases (a group of endoproteases with specificity for aspartate residues in protein) are stimulated. Apoptotic cell death is accompanied by cell shrinkage, dynamic membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, DNA laddering, loss of phospholipids asymmetry, low ATP levels, and mild calcium overload. This type of cell death normally occurs in penumbral region at the ischemic injury site and in different regions in various neurodegenerative diseases.

This volume provides a comprehensive description of phospholipid metabolism in brain, activities of phospholipases A2, and their involvement in neurological disorders. The purpose of this book is to present readers with cutting edge information in a lively manner that is useful not only to student and teachers but also to researchers and physicians.

Phytochemicals Signal Transduction and Neurological Disorders Phytochemicals are heterogeneous group of bioactive compounds produced by plants, which are extensively researched by scientists for their health-promoting potentials in human diseases. Unlike vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals are not required for sustaining cell viability, but they play an important role in protecting tissues and cells from the harmful effects of oxidative stress and inflammation. Examples of phytochemicals include catechins, resveratrol, ginkgo biloba, curcumin, and sulfur compounds found in garlic. Although, the precise molecular mechanisms associated with beneficial effects of phytochemicals still remain the subject of intense investigations, but it is becoming increasingly evident that phytochemicals mediate their effects by counteracting, reducing, and repairing the damage caused by oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. In addition, phytochemicals also stimulate the synthesis of adaptive enzymes and proteins through the stimulation of a transcription factor called Nrf2 and induction of phase II detoxifying enzymes. Consumption of phytochemicals induces neurohormetic response that results in the expression of adaptive stress-resistance genes that are responsible for encoding antioxidant enzymes, protein chaperones, and neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Based on the stimulation of signal transduction network and adaptive stress-resistance genes, it is proposed that the use of phytochemicals from childhood to old age along with regular exercise is an important strategy for maintaining normal aging and delaying onset of age-related neurological disorders (stroke, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease). Phytochemicals Signal Transduction and Neurological Disorders presents readers with cutting edge and comprehensive information not only on bioavailability, and mechanism of action of phytochemicals in the brain, but also provides the molecular mechanism associated with beneficial effects of phytochemicals in neurotraumatic (stroke, spinal cord trauma, and traumatic brain injury) and neurodegenerative (Alzheimers disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) diseases.

Unless new discoveries are made in the prevention or treatment of stroke, Alzheimer's Disease and depression, the number of patients with these diseases is sure to increase dramatically by the year 2050. Thus, developing strategies to retard or delay the onset of stroke, AD and depression these neurological disorders is of critical important. The present monograph will provide current and comprehensive information on the relationship between neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in age-related neurological disorders at the molecular level. The information described in this monograph on lifestyle (diet and exercise), genes and age is intended to facilitate and promote new discoveries for the treatment of age-related neurological disorders.

Metabolic syndrome as an important risk factor for stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression presents readers with cutting edge and comprehensive information on relationship among metabolic syndrome, stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression. It is hoped that this monograph will be useful to postgraduate students, faculty, research scientists, pharmacologists, nutritionists, and physicians, who are curious about the molecular mechanisms that link metabolic syndrome with stroke, Alzheimer disease, and depression.