title: How the brain repairs itself: new therapeutic strategies in inflammatory and degenerative CNS disorders.
abstract: In the early 20th century, seminal work by Tello and Cajal showed that the CNS has the ability to regenerate itself after injury. In the most recent years, this pivotal observation has been rejuvenated by detailed in vitro and in vivo evidence supporting the idea of an innate self-maintenance programme to sustain brain homoeostasis and repair. These observations support the idea that chronic inflammatory and degenerative disorders of the brain might result from defective repair mechanisms rather than uncontrollable pathogenetic events. Investigation of the molecular and cellular events sustaining intrinsic brain-repair mechanisms and a better understanding of why they fail over time in chronic disorders might, therefore, provide an attractive conceptual framework within which to develop new and efficacious therapies for neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Unit (DIBIT) and Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy. g.martino@hsr.it
authors.forename: Gianvito
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation / Q000639:trends; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors