Etiopathogenesis

In 1991, a small annual meeting named "International Winter Conference on Neurodegeneration (lWCN)" was established; the aim of this meeting is to review the neurodegenerative disorders and to attempt to explore how progress might be made in this field, as the neurodegenerative disorders have been emerging to be one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in modern societies. The first meeting took place in Seefeld, Austria, in February 1992; the topics for the first IWCN were chosen to provide a broad foundation of clinical science, which included the problem of aging, classification of neurodegenerative disorders and of Alzheimer's dis­ natural history, pathology, and clinical neurology ease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The fundamental pathology underlying these neurodegenerative disorders is neuronal cell death. For the understanding of pathophysiol­ ogy and the development of neuroprotective treatment for these dis­ orders, elucidation of the mechanism of neuronal cell death at the cellular and molecular level is essential. With this concept in mind, the second IWCN was held in Whistler Village in Canada in January 1993. Funding was generously provided by Schering AG, Berlin, and for the excellent organization we have to thank Ms. Ingeborg Runge.

I: Genetic, Growth, and Environmental Factors.- 1 Genetic Evidence for a Novel Familial Alzheimer’s Disease Locus on Chromosome 14: Analysis of Candidate Genes.- 2 Growth factors in Parkinson’s Disease.- 3 Contribution of Cell Culture to Understanding Neuronal Aging and Degradation.- 4 Neuroepidemiology of Parkinson’s Disease: Environmental Influences.- 5 Discussion.- II: Metals and Free Radicals.- 6 Manganese-Induced Neurotoxicity.- 7 Iron and Parkinson’s Disease.- 8 Biological Synthesis of Nitric Oxide from L-Arginine.- 9 Multiple Roles of the Calcium Ion in Cell Killing.- 10 Discussion.- III: Energy Metabolism and Neurotoxins.- 11 Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Aging, and Huntington’s Disease.- 12 Energy Failure, Glutamate, and Neuropathology: Relevance to Neurodegenerative Disorders.- 13 Proteases and Pathological Neurodegeneration.- 14 Endogenous MPTP-Like Amines in the Brain: Isoquinolines.- 15 Discussion.- IV: Special Topics in Neurodegeneration.- 16 Mitochondrial Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease.- 17 Trophic Factors and Parkinson’s Disease.- 18 Spontaneous Generation of Infectious Amyloid Nucleants in the Transmissible and Nontransmissible Brain Amyloidoses.- 19 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex of Guam: Two Distinct Clinical Entities or a Single Disease Process with a Spectrum of Neuropathological and Clinical Expression?.- 20 Discussion.- Erratum, Volume I, Page 69.