Erythropoietin and the Nervous System

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a chemokine hormone that is widely distributed throughout the body. In addition to its traditional role as a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, in recent years many laboratories have shown that EPO can act as a neuroprotective compound in a variety of injury paradigms in the nervous system. Past experience with relatively safety profile of this FDA-approved drug makes it an ideal candidate to take it into clinical trials for neuroprotection. We are on the verge of major clinical trials using this drug for neuroprotection in diseases ranging from stroke, to transverse myelitis to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. This is the first book of its kind that brings together researchers from many different disciplines of neuroscience to review the current state-of-the-art in EPO and the nervous system. This book will benefit scientists and clinicians interested in neuroprotection in the broadest sense.