APOPTOSIS IN DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE OF THE NERVOUS-SYSTEM .2. APOPTOSIS IN CHILDHOOD NEUROLOGIC DISEASE

The loss of cells in the human nervous system has long been known as t he hallmark of incurable degenerative disease, Recent studies that beg an with attempts to understand cell loss during normal development hav e now begun to contribute to our understanding of the process of patho logical cell loss. In many neurodegenerative conditions, it has become clear that apoptosis, or programmed cell death, plays a role in the d iminution of cell number. In the cases of human immunodeficiency virus -associated encephalopathy and several of the hereditary neurodegenera tive disorders, triggers and mediators of this process have been ident ified. This identification is not only the first step toward treatment of such disorders, but it also raises the possibility of exploiting t his information to design targeted apoptosis-based therapies for tumor s of the nervous system. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc.