Adenosine

This book assembles diverse recent research on regulating the influence of adenosine, outlines clinical implications, and highlights emerging adenosine-based therapies. As examples, the relationship between adenosine and the highly altered metabolic state during hibernation has important predictions for neuroprotection. As part of a major paradigm shift, we now understand that the regulation of extracellular adenosine by astrocytes is critical for normal sleep and could be pivotal for the prevention and treatment of epilepsy. In addition, there is an established functional relationship where adenosine and dopamine receptors form receptor heteromers and extend the clinical reach of the regulation of adenosine directly into the realm of dopaminergic disorders and neuropsychiatry. Finally, a ketogenic (high-fat, low-carbohydrate) diet is a metabolic therapy used to treat pediatric and medically-refractory epilepsy for nearly 100 years. Although its efficacy is well established, the key neural mechanisms underlying its success remained unclear, hindering development of analogous pharmacological solutions. Converging evidence points to a critical link between ketogenic metabolism and increased adenosine.