The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis

by Del Rey; Chrousos; Besedovsky

• ISBN13: 9780444530400
• ISBN10: 0444530401
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-12
• Publisher: Elsevier Science

Summary

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis controls reactions to stress and regulates various body processes such as digestion, the immune system, mood and sexuality, and energy usage. This volume focuses on the immune system and provides substantive experimental and clinical data to support current understanding in the field, and potential applications of this knowledge in the treatment of disease. * Evidence presented in this book suggests that the Nervous - , Endocrine, - and Immune Systems form the Neuroendoimmune Supersystem, which integrates all the biological functions of higher organisms both in health and disease for their entire life cycle. * Contributors include both the scientists who initiated the work on the HPA axis and on the autonomic nervous system, and those who joined the field later.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	p. vii
Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvii
Physiology
The HPA Axis and the Immune System: A Perspective	p. 3
Physiology of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis	p. 17
Glucocorticoid Signaling in Health and Disease	p. 33
Organization of the Sympathetic Nervous System: Peripheral and Central Aspects	p. 55
The Innate Immune System	p. 87
Specific Immune Response	p. 101
The Immune System of the Brain	p. 127
Effect of the HPA Axis and the SNS on the Immune System
Glucocorticoid Effects on Immune Responses	p. 147
Effects of Glucocorticoids on the Developing Thymus	p. 169
Effects of Catecholamines on the Immune Response	p. 189
Enhancing versus Suppressive Effects of Stress on Immune Function: Implications for Immunoprotection and Immunopathology	p. 207
Immune-Neuroendocrine Feedback Mechanisms
Processing of Cytokine Signals at CNS Levels: Relevance for Immune-HPA Axis Interactions	p. 227
Inflammatory Mediator Action on the Anterior Pituitary Gland	p. 241
Neuroendocrinology and the Immune Response: Inflammatory Mediator Effects on the Adrenal Gland	p. 259
Inflammatory Mediators Affect the Autonomic Nervous System	p. 267
The Neuroimmune Biology of Disease
The Neuroendocrinology and Immunology of Critical Illness	p. 291
Neuroendocrinology of Inflammatory Disorders	p. 319
Glucocorticoid Resistance in Inflammatory Diseases	p. 349
Glucocorticosteroids for Asthma: From Genes to the Clinic	p. 359
Index	p. 383
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