Astrocytes and Their Role in Health and Disease

Astrocytes are some of the key cells in the central nervous system with complex, specific and important roles. They are involved in many important functions under both physiological and pathological conditions. This book brings a theoretical overview on astrocytes, their functions, roles and experimental practice. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the basic astrocyte functions and their connections with other central nervous system cells. Chapter 3 focuses on the blood-brain barrier, Chapter 4 summarises surgical methods for tissue collection, Chapter 5 deals with the laboratory isolation procedure, Chapter 6 describes the sources of astrocyte isolation and troubleshooting during this procedure and Chapter 7 explores the importance of biomaterial research in astrocyte cell models.