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The papers compiled in this supplementum are a selection of the best con­ th tributions presented at the 19 Central-European Neurological Symposium (CNS 19) held on June 29 - July 1, 1989 in Vienna. The main topic of this conference was degenerative and age-associated neurological diseases. In recent decades life expectancy has dramatically increased, at least in the industrialized countries. This has led to extreme distortions of the so-called population pyramids that no longer look like such but begin to almost resemble cylinders. As a consequence of this'overaging'of the population, diseases that are associated with age have become much more common than before. It was thus more than reasonable to devote a congress of the CNS series to these important neurological diseases. The following fields of interest are covered: Age-associated memory impairment (AAMI), Alzheimer's and other dementias, Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, stroke and others. Concerning the de men­ tias, some papers deal with diagnosis employing neuro-imaging methods such as MRI, CT, PET and SPECT, others using electrophysiological methods. An important aspect in the early preclinical diagnosis of dementia is the inclusion of neuropsychological tests to enhance the chance of effec­ tive early treatment. Also drugs that are now under clinical investigation are discussed and preliminary results are presented.

This book represents the third in a series of International Conferences related to Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. The first one took place in Eilat, Israel, in 1985; and the second one in Kyoto, Japan, in 1989. This book contains the full text of oral and poster presentations from the Third International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Recent Developments, held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. on November 1-6, 1993. The Chicago Conference was attended by 270 participants. The Scientific Program was divided into nine oral sessions, a keynote presentation, and a poster session. The conference culminated in a Round Table Discussion involving all of the participants in the conference. The four and one-half day meeting served as an excellent medium for surveying the current status of clinical and preclinical developments in AD and PD. There were 59 oral presentations and 93 posters. This book incorporates a majority of both.

Alzheimer's disease is a primary neurodegenerative disease whose incidence and prevalence is rapidly approaching epidemic proportions. A major reason for this is that man is living longer than he has ever lived before and the likelihood of contracting the disease is significantly greater within the elderly portion of the population. The problem becomes even more acute in the light of recent estimates which predict that the number of people living beyond the age of 65 is expected to continue to increase. The impact of these statistics on the family and the health care industry in terms of time, effort and cost are staggering. A recent report issued by the Michigan Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Conditions (1987) effectively underscores this last point.'Each person with a dementing disease requires an average of seven years of care, either at home or in a residential care facility. Care provided at home is estimated to cost about $12,000 annually, for a total of $84,000 per person. This is a conservative figure, however, because many persons with dementia spend their last few years in a nursing home at an average'cost of $22,000 per year, and some spend from 10 to 15 years in a nursing home, for a total cost of $220,000 to $330,000.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has historically been concerned with the protection of human subjects. In July 1977, the NIA sponsored a meeting to update and supplement guide­ lines for protecting those participating in Federal research pro­ jects. Although the basic guidelines had been in effect since 1966, it had been neglected to include the elderly as a vulnerable population. In November 1981, the NIA organized a conference on the ethical and legal issues related to informed consent in senile dementia cases. The present volume offers the latest and best thinking on Alzheimer's Dementia to have emerged from the dialog that was first embarked upon at the NIA meeting. Indeed, the issues and concerns it treats now seem even more relevant than they appeared historically because of the vastly greater awareness in the community of the entire spectrum of problems Alzheimer's disease confronts us all with. Our interest and concern is both humanitarian and self­ serving. Clearly older people must be protected from in­ appropriate research and careful attention must be paid to the circumstances under which research is conducted on those older persons who have given anything less than full consent. It is equally necessary, however, for the research enterprise to be protected so that today's elderly and those of the future can benefit from the fruits of research.

This two-volume work contains the full text of the oral and poster presentations and the general discussion at the round table discussion of the Second International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Basic and Therapeutic Strategies, held at the Kyoto Park Hotel in Kyoto, Japan, on November 6-10, 1989. The First Conference was held at the Aviya Sonesta Hotel in Eilat, Israel, on March 24-27, 1985. The record of this First Conference was published by Plenum Press in 1986 as Volume 29 in Advances in Behavioral Biology, under the title'Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: Strategies for Research and Development.'We are happy that the comprehensive texts of the oral and poster presentations of the Second Conference could again be published within the framework of this series. Since the First Conference in 1985, rapid progress has been made in both basic and'therapeutic aspects of these diseases. About 700 scientists from allover the world participated in the Second Conference, and 300 papers were presented in oral and poster sessions. Many people and organizations have helped to organize this multi­ disciplinary international conference and hence have contributed to the scientific quality of these two volumes. We thank the members of the organizing committee, the organizations that provided financial support, and the contributing scientists for their enthusiastic participation. These two volumes follow the same publishing philosophy as the volume derived from the First Conference. They span a broad spectrum of topics and bridge preclinical and clinical concepts related to these diseases.

Any mention of the relationship, still poorly understood, between body (or brain) and mind invariably invokes the name of Descartes, who is often thought of as the father of modern philosophy and perhaps of neurophilosophy. Although a native of the heart of France (the region around Tours), Rene Descartes travelled widely, as everyone knows, especially to Holland and Sweden. It should come as no surprise, that the Congress of Neurophilosophy and Alzheimer's Disease was the first in the series of Fondation Ipsen Colloques Medecine et Recherche to be held outside France. The meeting was held in San Diego (California) on January 11, 1991. This venue was chosen for a number of reasons. The University of California San Diego is without doubt one of the most dynamic universities today. A good number of friends of the Fondation Ipsen who have taken part as speakers in previous conferences are based there. Patricia Churchland, whose publications have helped'launch'the term'neurophilosophy', also teaches there. The choice of this particular venue gave us the welcome opportunity of benefiting directly during the conference from the participation of many eminent (including some Nobel Prize-winning) scientists, including biochemists, neuro­ scientists and'alzheimerologist', psychologists, cognitive science specialists and philosophers.

The management of Alzheimer's Disease and the related dementias is one of the major challenges to health care professionals and American society-at-large for the coming decade and the coming millennium. The rapid growth of the over-eighty-five population, the group which, as recent studies have confirmed and as many of us clinicians have long suspected, has an even higher prevalence than previously quoted of dementing disorders, is the major cause of this. We are thus challenged by, as Bernard Issacs used to call it,'the survival of the unfittest,'as well as the oPtimistic approach of'bringing life to years,'as John F. Kennedy said. The fact is that we, as a society, tend to confuse'treatment'and'cure'(and'prevention'). As the proceedings of the conference which this book represents emphasize, there is considerable work going on about the potential prevention of, or at least the reduction of, symptomatology in these illnesses by interventions genetically, chemIcally, and so forth. However, the more we find out, the more complicated it becomes, and the more heterogeneous Alzheimer's and the related disorders appear to be, not only in their manifestations (as clinicians have long recognized) but also in the individual initiating and underlying processes. For these reasons, absolute preventive techniques or the likelihood of an intervention which will reverse the process in a high proportion of patients, do not appear to be just around the corner.

This book is the outcome of an international conference, held at the Aviya Sonesta Hotel in Eilat, Israel, on March 24-27, 1985. This was the 30th in a series of the annual OHOLO Conferences, sponsored by the Israel Institute for Biological Research. Participants in this Conference consisted of scientists from four­ teen countries; represented a broad spectrum of research interests; and included a well-balanced representation from academia, clinical institutions and pharmaceutical industry. The book includes talks, poster sessions, and a comprehensive general discussion, all from the proceedings of this conference. In the interest of assuring a rapid publication of the novel infor­ mation reviewed, this book has been prepared in camera-ready format. We are cognizant of the fact that several typographical errors may exist in the text, and that there are variations in style and typeface of the var­ ious chapters. This, we felt, was a reasonable compromise for the sake of speed and efficient transmission of valuable scientific information. No­ body is perfect. •••• The success of the conference, and hence the quality of this book are attributable to the extensive efforts of a large number of extremely capable individuals. These include members of the Scientific Organizing Committee, and the Technical staff of the OHOLO Organization. Of course, the conference could not have succeeded without the high quality of the presentations, and the enthusiastic participation of the contributing scientists.

Almost four decades of innovative and intensive research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) have brought major advances in our understanding of its pathogenesis, improved tools for diagnosis, and strategies for its treatment. This research has helped build a solid foundation of knowledge in the neurosciences and biological basis of AD and AD-related neurological disorders. Scientific background and insightful hypotheses are of major relevance in order to approach to an effective therapy for this devastating disease. Current Hypotheses and Research Milestones in Alzheimer's Disease contains 20 seminal chapters by authors with varying views on the neuroanatomical, neuropathological, neuropsychological, neurological, and molecular aspects of AD. These chapters grew out of “Current Hypothesis on Alzheimer's Disease”, held in Viña del Mar, Chile, in November of 2007. Participants included the world's leading Alzheimer's researchers, whose work has illuminated AD investigations during the past few decades. Students, academics and medical professionals will find this text an invaluable addition to the study of this important subject.

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease (ADPD), held March 9-13, 2005 in Sorrento, Italy. The subject matter of the ADPD conferences is unique in that it deals not only with issues related individually to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, but also with the integration of these and other related diseases. The most up-to-date techniques and research findings are illustrated in this volume, covering topics such as immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and the history, epidemiology, clinical phenomenology, diagnosis, imaging, treatment,and future perspectives of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases.

This issue is a dedicated supplement published in addition to the regular issues of'Neurodegenerative Diseases'containing congress abstracts.'Neurodegenerative Diseases'is a well-respected, international peer-reviewed journal in Neurology. Supplement issues are included in the subscription.

Few medical or scientific addresses have so unmistakeably made history as the presentation delivered by Alois Alzheimer on November 4, 1906 in Tübingen. The celebratory event,'Alzheimer 100 Years and Beyond'organized on the initiation of the Alzheimer community in Germany and worldwide, in collaboration with the Fondation Ipsen, was the highlight of the Year of Alzheimer. However, beyond these few months of tributes, the centennial offers a unique opportunity to assess both the progress achieved and the uncertainties remaining. This volume, a collection comprised mainly of articles by the invited speakers and also of a few other prominent researchers, is meant to be a record of those events.

This book brings together the proceedings of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases: New Perspectives, the Sixth International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease, held recently in Seville, Spain, and discusses the latest developments in the basic science and therapy of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases by leading specialists

Providing a cutting-edge profile of research progress in this important field of study, Cholinergic Mechanisms: Function and Dysfunction contains a compilation of the proceedings of the Eleventh ISCM, held in St. Moritz, May 2002. Bringing together 250 contributors from 30 countries, the book presents a comprehensive picture of the cholinergic field. It provides a survey of current understanding of molecular, pharmacological, toxicological, behavioral, and clinical aspects of the cholinergic system. This volume offers a state-of-the-art account of progress in the field from the molecule in the test tube through the cell and the synapse, to the organism and the patient.

1h The 5 International Conference on the Progress in Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's 51 1 Disease took place from March 31 to April 5 \ 2001 in Kroto, Japan. This international 1 conference was organized as a joint Congress with the 9 International Catecholamine Symposium. A total of 1258 clinicians and researchers participated in this joint congress 1h from 38 countries in the world. This book represents the proceedings of the 5 Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The International Conference on the Progress in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease was first launched by Professor Abraham Fisher of Israel and Professor Israel Hanin of USA. The first conference was held in Eilat, Israel in 1985. The second conference was organized in Kyoto, Japan in 1989; the third one in Chicago, USA, in 1993, and the fourth one in Eilat, Israel in 1997. The International Catecholamine Symposium (ICS) is an international meeting devoted to the development of basic as well as clinical research on catecholamines. The first Catecholamine Symposium was held in Bethesda, USA in 1958. Since then this symposium has occurred every 5 years. Professor Toshiharu Nagatsu was appointed as 1h the president of the 9 International Catecholamine Symposium, which was to be held in 200 I also in Japan. Therefore, we decided to organize a joint congress of the two meetings, because there is much overlap in research between Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and catecholamines. We thank Professor Nagatsu very much for agreeing to organizing this joint congress.

Alzheimer's Disease is an ever present problem affecting millions of people around the world and, as people's average lifespan lengthens, its prevalence is set to increase. A global effort is needed to combat the disease, including research to investigate the causes, development of effective treatments and, ultimately, prevention of the disease. Published every two years, these timely books discuss the very latest research. This new volume provides a unique source of reference to the important work being done in this field, it gives academics and clinicians an opportunity to learn about cutting edge developments and covers all aspects of Alzheimer's Disease, including diagnosis, clinical course, epidemiological course and therapeutics and disease mechanisms. Alzheimer's Disease: Advances in Etiology, Pathogenesis and Therapeutics will provide essential information for basic and clinical researchers in Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias as well as for those who care for patients.

The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.