Hormesis: A Revolution in Biology, Toxicology and Medicine

This book stems from the belief that scientists and policy makers should be guided by the most reliable predictive models available, among which the hormetic dose response model has considerable evidence to support it, is very generalizable, has a strong mechanistic foundation and can be applied in the assessment of single agents and complex mixtures. For these reasons, the hormetic model should become the default in risk assessment.This book summarizes and analyzes the various positives of hormesis in an attempt to revel hormesis as a fundamental principle of toxicology, biology, and biomedical sciences as a whole. A focused discussion of how acceptance of the hormedis based model of toxicology would affect environmental standards and clean up values is mounted. A panel of scientists has been recruited to critically evaluate the hormetic dose response model and its comparison with current default models in their individual fields, including cellular biology, evolutionary biology, gerontology, and pharmacology. In-depth investigations are provided into how biological systems respond to increasing doses of environmental toxins while attempting to understand how cells respond to stress in the contexts of aging and neurological disorders.

Mark P. Mattson, Ph.D. is Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, where he leads a multi-faceted research team that applies cutting-edge technologies in research aimed at understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain aging and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. He is also a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has published more than 450 original research articles and numerous review articles, and has edited 10 books in the areas of mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Mattson has trained more than 60 postdoctoral and predoctoral students who have contributed to his being the most highly cited neuroscientist in the world. Edward J. Calabrese, Ph.D. is a Professor and Program Director ofEnvironmental Health Science, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. His research focuses on environmental toxicology with an emphasis on biological factors including genetic and nutritional factors that enhance susceptibility to pollutant toxicity and the environmental implications of toxicological hormesis. Dr. Calabrese has researched extensively in the area of host factors affecting susceptibility to pollutants, and is the author of more than 300 papers in scholarly journals, as well as 24 books in the field of toxicology and environmental pollution. Dr. Calabrese has received numerous awards including, most recently, the prestigious Marie Curie Prize.