The first international symposium on brain edema was held in Vienna/ Austria in 1965 followed by altogether eight meetings since. The most recent was organized in Y okohama by the Department of Neurosurgery of the Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Tokyo. The continuing interest of both, clinicians and experimental scientists alike may be attributable to the fact that brain edema is a common denominator of many cerebral disorders, which under acute conditions threatens life and weIl-being of afflicted patients. Although progress in understanding as weIl as treatment can be recognized since 1965 many problems remain, particularly concerning the control of brain edema under acute conditions, as in trauma or ischemia. A quantum leap was the distinction of the cytotoxic and vasogenic brain edema prototypes as advanced by Igor Klatzo, providing for transition from a morphological to functional understanding now. The recent brain edema meetings were certainly benefiting from developments of both, molecular neurobiology on the one hand side and functional brain imaging at an ever-increasing resolution on the other, such as magnetic resonance imaging orpositron emission tomography. The international symposium in San Diego 1996 may witness further breakthroughs, hopefully also of effective treatment modalities. The symposium in Y okohama was dedicated to the "Legacy of 28 Years of Brain Edema Research" as a reminder of accomplishments as weIl as remaining challenges.

InhaltsangabeCell Swelling and Cell Damage in vivo and in vitro.- Evolution of Brain Edema Concepts.- Neuron-Glial Interaction During Injury and Edema of the CNS.- Mechanisms of Glutamate Induced Swelling in Astroglial Cells.- Neuroprotective Nmda Antagonists: the Controversy over Their Potential for Adverse Effects on Cortical Neuronal Morphology.- Mechanisms of Glial Swelling by Arachidonic Acid.- Astrocyte Swelling in Liver Failure: Role of Glutamine and Benzodiazepines.- The Role of K+ Influx on Glutamate Induced Astrocyte Swelling: Effect of Temperature.- Differential Behavior of Glial and Neuronal Cells Exposed to Hypotonic Solution.- The Regulation of Intracellular pH is Strongly Dependent on Extracellular pH in Cultured Rat Astrocytes and Neurons.- Morphological Changes of Cultured Neuronal and Endothelial Cells by Human Albumin.- Metabolic Alterations Accompany Ionic Disturbances and Cellular Swelling During a Hypoxic Insult to the Retina: an in vitro Study.- Diffuse Astrocytic Swelling and Increased Second Messenger Activity Following Acute Haemophilus influenzae MeningitisEvidence from a Rat Model.- Mediator Mechanisms in Vasogenic and Cytotoxic Brain Edema.- Leukocyte/Endothelial Interactions and Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability in Rats During Cerebral Superfusion with LTB4.- The Effect of Leukotriene C4 on the Permeability of Brain Capillary Endothelial Cell Monolayer.- Modulation of Edema by Dizocilpine, Kynurenate, and NBQX in Respiring Brain Slices After Exposure to Glutamate.- An Assessment of Progression of Brain Edema with Amino Acid Levels in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Changes in Electroencephalogram in an Adult Cat Model of Cold Brain Injury.- Role of Serotonin and Prostaglandins in Brain Edema Induced by Heat Stress. An Experimental Study in the Young Rat.- Arachidonic Acid Release and Permeability Changes Induced by Endothelins in Human Cerebromicrovascular Endothelium.- The Role of Histamine in Brain Oedema Formation.- Effects of Antihistaminics on Experimental Brain Edema.- Causative Role of Lysosomal Enzymes in the Pathogenesis of Cerebral Lesions Due to Brain Edema Under Chronic Hypertension.- A Novel Aspect of Thrombin in the Tissue Reaction Following Central Nervous System Injury.- Proposed Toxic Oxidant Inhibitors Fail to Reduce Brain Edema.- Involvement of Nitric Oxide and Free Radical (O2-) in Neuronal Injury Induced by Deprivation of Oxygen and Glucose in vitro.- The Endogenous Ouabain-Like Sodium Pump Inhibitor in Cold Injury-Induced Brain Edema.- Effect of Steroids on Brain Lipocortin Immunoreactivity.- The Effects of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide on Brain Edema, Intracranial Pressure and Cerebral Energy Metabolism in Rat Congenital Hydrocephalus.- Blood-Brain Barrier Function.- Molecular Biology of Blood-Brain Barrier Ontogenesis and function.- Effects of Protein Kinase C Activators on Na, K-ATPase Activity in Rat Brain Microvessels.- Effect of Barrier Opening on Brain Edema in Human Brain Tumors.- Simple Quantitative Evaluation of Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Vasogenic Brain Edema.- Detection of Endogenous Albumin as an Index of Blood Parenchymal Border Alteration.- Amino Acids in Extracellular Fluid in Vasogenic Brain Edema.- Pharmacological Reduction of Brain Edema Induced by Intracarotid Infusion of Protamine Sulphate: a Comparison Between a Free Radical Scavenger and an Ampa Receptor Antagonist.- Visual Evoked Responses as a Monitor of Intracranial Pressure During Hyperosmolar Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption.- Early Changes of Blood-Brain Barrier and Superoxide Scavenging Activity in Rat Cryogenic Brain Injury.- Evaluation of BBB Damage in an UV Irradiation Model by Endogenous Protein Tracers.- Blood-Brain Barrier Opening Following Transient Reflex Sympathetic Hypertension.- Formation, Propagation and Resolution of Brain Edema.- Morphology of Non-Vascular Intracerebral Fluid Spaces.- Subcortical U-Fibers Layer Preservation in Brain Edema.- Is the Swelling in Brain Edema Isotropic or Anisotropic?.- Bi