Meet the editor

Dr. Chang is the Lab Chief for the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases in the School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Chang has organized the International Alzheimer's Disease Conference every year since 2000. He has published over 142 peer-reviewed papers, 14 book chapters, and edited 3 books on neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Chang is the chief editor for the *American Journal* 

*of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias*, senior editor for the *Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology*, and associate handling editor for *Frontiers in Neurology/ Neurosciences/Psychiatry*. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International AD/PD Symposium, a member of the editorial boards of more than 20 different journals, and a grant reviewer for different grant agencies/foundations.

Dr. Ho has been working for some time on aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases. She is a registered Chinese medicine practitioner with rich experience in both laboratory and clinical research. She has worked as an assistant professor in Macau and is now at the School of Nursing in Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interest includes the use of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture to prevent neurodegeneration (neu-

roprotection). Dr. Ho focuses her research on topics including, but not limited to, disease progression and risk factors leading to neurodegenerative diseases. She has expertise in combining Western and Chinese medicine to elicit holistic effects on the body to exert neuroprotection. She is a member of the editorial boards of four journals and a constant grant reviewer for different journals and funding agencies.

Contents

**Section 1**

Disease

**Section 2**

Protecting the Aging Retina *by Shen Nian and Amy C.Y. Lo*

*and Arry Yanuar*

**Preface III**

Neurotransmitter Receptor as Target for Neuroprotection **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 13**

**Chapter 3 31** The Role and Development of the Antagonist of Adenosine A2A in Parkinson's

**Chapter 4 45**

Neuroprotection to the CNS **69**

**Chapter 5 71**

Introductory Chapter: Concept of Neuroprotection - A New Perspective

Current Therapeutic Approaches from Imidazoline and Opioid Receptors

*by Liliana Mititelu-Tartau, Maria Bogdan, Victor Gheorman, Liliana Foia, Ancuta Goriuc, Gabriela Rusu, Beatrice Buca, Liliana Pavel, Ana Cristofor,* 

*by Widya Dwi Aryati, Nabilah Nurtika Salamah, Rezi Riadhi Syahdi* 

Adrenergic Receptors as Pharmacological Targets for Neuroinflammation

*by Raymond Chuen-Chung Chang and Yuen-Shan Ho*

*Cosmin-Gabriel Tartau and Gratiela Eliza Popa*

and Neurodegeneration in Parkinson's Disease *by Monika Sharma and Patrick M. Flood*

Modulators in Neuroprotection

## Contents


Preface

Neuroprotection is a key approach to maintaining brain health to prevent the retraction of synapses, accumulation of neurodegenerative proteins (tau, β-amyloid peptide, α-synuclein, huntingtin, or any misfolded proteins), activation of neuroinflammation, or even the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. Neuroprotection can be applied to chronic neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy's body diseases, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or even brain tumors), acute neurological disorders (brain trauma, stroke, transient ischemia, epilepsy, or cerebral hemorrhage), or even mental disorders (psychosis, depression, or schizophrenia). The traditional view of neuroprotection is often restricted to the use of agonists or antagonists of neurotransmitter receptors. While this is still a great approach to safeguard neurons, neuroprotection strategy is not limited to modulating neurotransmitter receptors. Neuroprotection can be accomplished by (1) natural products, (2) herbal medicine, (3) different forms of exercise, (4) learning new skills or languages, or (5) even good sleeping patterns. From all these new perspectives, the concept of neuroprotection is limited not only to the protection of neurons in the pathogenesis of diseases but also to the prevention of

The major aim of this book is to focus on different approaches to achieve neuroprotection. In this book, most of our authors review the advantages of neurotransmitter receptors. Mititelu-Tartau and Bogdan's group reviews the imidazoline ligands and opioid ligands in Alzheimer's disease. They review the neuroprotective effects of agmatine on memory. In addition, they also summarize the findings of using different opioid receptor ligands to elicit neuroprotection. Similarly, Yanuar's group reviews the beneficial effects of the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist. It has been reported that the adenosine receptor antagonist elicits neuroprotective effects, partially because of its signaling pathways to activate the cytosolic fraction of cAMP.

Apart from modulating neurotransmitter receptors, Flood's group reviews another very important pathological factor leading to neurodegeneration: neuroinflammation. Microglial cells are the major line of cells to be activated to produce cytokines and free radicals to damage neurons. Interestingly, Flood's group reviews how different adrenergic receptor agonists and antagonists modulate microglial responses. This independent review suggests that modulation of neuroinflammation can also be achieved by intervening neurotransmitter receptors and their associated signal-

Neuroprotection can be disease specific but use different approaches. Nian and Lo review the neuroprotection of aging eyes, in which aging-associated macular degeneration often occurs in the elderly. With the progression of the disease and identification of biological targets at different states of the disease, the strategy of

Taken together, neuroprotection receives increasing attention from different approaches in different states of neurodegenerative diseases, acute neurological

Yanuar's group reviews how A2A antagonists provide neuroprotection.

any detrimental factors leading to neuronal cell loss.

ing events.

neuroprotection can be changed.
