Gliosis
The production of a dense fibrous network of neuroglia; includes astrocytosis, which is a proliferation of astrocytes in the area of a degenerative lesion.
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
Astrocytes
A class of large neuroglial (macroglial) cells in the central nervous system - the largest and most numerous neuroglial cells in the brain and spinal cord. Astrocytes (from "star" cells) are irregularly shaped with many long processes, including those with "end feet" which form the glial (limiting) membrane and directly and indirectly contribute to the BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER. They regulate the extracellular ionic and chemical environment, and "reactive astrocytes" (along with MICROGLIA) respond to injury.
Neuroglia
The non-neuronal cells of the nervous system. They not only provide physical support, but also respond to injury, regulate the ionic and chemical composition of the extracellular milieu, participate in the BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER and BLOOD-RETINAL BARRIER, form the myelin insulation of nervous pathways, guide neuronal migration during development, and exchange metabolites with neurons. Neuroglia have high-affinity transmitter uptake systems, voltage-dependent and transmitter-gated ion channels, and can release transmitters, but their role in signaling (as in many other functions) is unclear.
Brain
The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.
Withanolides
Nerve Degeneration
Loss of functional activity and trophic degeneration of nerve axons and their terminal arborizations following the destruction of their cells of origin or interruption of their continuity with these cells. The pathology is characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases. Often the process of nerve degeneration is studied in research on neuroanatomical localization and correlation of the neurophysiology of neural pathways.
Disease Models, Animal
Pick Disease of the Brain
A rare form of DEMENTIA that is sometimes familial. Clinical features include APHASIA; APRAXIA; CONFUSION; ANOMIA; memory loss; and personality deterioration. This pattern is consistent with the pathologic findings of circumscribed atrophy of the poles of the FRONTAL LOBE and TEMPORAL LOBE. Neuronal loss is maximal in the HIPPOCAMPUS, entorhinal cortex, and AMYGDALA. Some ballooned cortical neurons contain argentophylic (Pick) bodies. (From Brain Pathol 1998 Apr;8(2):339-54; Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1057-9)
S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit
A calcium-binding protein that is 92 AA long, contains 2 EF-hand domains, and is concentrated mainly in GLIAL CELLS. Elevation of S100B levels in brain tissue correlates with a role in neurological disorders.
Retinal Diseases
Microglia
The third type of glial cell, along with astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (which together form the macroglia). Microglia vary in appearance depending on developmental stage, functional state, and anatomical location; subtype terms include ramified, perivascular, ameboid, resting, and activated. Microglia clearly are capable of phagocytosis and play an important role in a wide spectrum of neuropathologies. They have also been suggested to act in several other roles including in secretion (e.g., of cytokines and neural growth factors), in immunological processing (e.g., antigen presentation), and in central nervous system development and remodeling.
Brain Diseases
Pathologic conditions affecting the BRAIN, which is composed of the intracranial components of the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. This includes (but is not limited to) the CEREBRAL CORTEX; intracranial white matter; BASAL GANGLIA; THALAMUS; HYPOTHALAMUS; BRAIN STEM; and CEREBELLUM.
Retina
The ten-layered nervous tissue membrane of the eye. It is continuous with the OPTIC NERVE and receives images of external objects and transmits visual impulses to the brain. Its outer surface is in contact with the CHOROID and the inner surface with the VITREOUS BODY. The outer-most layer is pigmented, whereas the inner nine layers are transparent.
Ophthalmoscopes
Immunohistochemistry
Neurons
Cerebral Cortex
2-Aminoadipic Acid
Mice, Transgenic
Brain Injuries
Acute and chronic (see also BRAIN INJURIES, CHRONIC) injuries to the brain, including the cerebral hemispheres, CEREBELLUM, and BRAIN STEM. Clinical manifestations depend on the nature of injury. Diffuse trauma to the brain is frequently associated with DIFFUSE AXONAL INJURY or COMA, POST-TRAUMATIC. Localized injuries may be associated with NEUROBEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATIONS; HEMIPARESIS, or other focal neurologic deficits.
Kainic Acid
(2S-(2 alpha,3 beta,4 beta))-2-Carboxy-4-(1-methylethenyl)-3-pyrrolidineacetic acid. Ascaricide obtained from the red alga Digenea simplex. It is a potent excitatory amino acid agonist at some types of excitatory amino acid receptors and has been used to discriminate among receptor types. Like many excitatory amino acid agonists it can cause neurotoxicity and has been used experimentally for that purpose.
Neurotoxicity Syndromes
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Inbred C57BL mice are a strain of laboratory mice that have been produced by many generations of brother-sister matings, resulting in a high degree of genetic uniformity and homozygosity, making them widely used for biomedical research, including studies on genetics, immunology, cancer, and neuroscience.