Mitochondria produce the chemical energy necessary for eukaryotic cell functions; hence mitochondria are an essential component of health, playing roles in both disease and aging. More than 80 human diseases and syndromes are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction; this book focuses upon diseases linked to these ubiquitous organelles. Accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage results in mitochondrial dysfunction through two main pathways. Mutation in mitochondrial DNA causes diseases such as Kearns-Sayre syndrome and Pearson syndrome. Mutation in chromosomal DNA causes diseases such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. These and many other diseases are reviewed in this book.
Key Features
- Presents the detailed structure of mitochondria, mitochondrial function, roles of oxidants and antioxidants in mitochondrial dysfunction.
- Includes summary of both causes and effects of these diseases.
- Discusses current and potential future therapies for mitochondrial dysfunction diseases
- Explores a wide variety of diseases caused by dysfunctional mitochondria.
Shamim I. Ahmad earned his
Master’s degree in Botany from
Patna University, Bihar, India, and
his PhD in Molecular Genetics
from Leicester University, England.
He then joined Nottingham
Polytechnic as a grade 1 lecturer and subsequently was
promoted to the post of Senior Lecturer. Ahmad now
spends much of his time producing/writing medical
books. For more than three decades he researched different
areas of molecular biology/genetics including thymineless
death in bacteria, genetic control of nucleotide
catabolism, development of anti-AIDs drug, control of
microbial infection of burns, phages of thermophilic bacteria,
and microbial flora of Chernobyl after the nuclear
power station accident. But his main interest is DNA
damage and repair specifically by near-ultraviolet light
mostly through the photolysis of biological compounds,
production of reactive oxygen species, and their implications
on human health including skin cancer. He also
investigates near-ultraviolet photolysis of non-biological
compounds such as 8-metoxypsoralen, mitomycin C, and
their importance in psoriasis treatment and in Fanconi
anemia. He has collaborated with the University of
Osaka, Japan, and he and his colleagues were able to
show that a number of naturally occurring enzymes were
able to scavenge the reactive oxygen species.
In 2003 he received a prestigious Asian Jewel Award
in Britain for Excellence in Education. His long time ambition
to produce medical books started in 2007 and since
then he has published Molecular mechanisms of Fanconi
Anemia, Molecular Mechanisms of Xeroderma Pigmentosum;
Molecular Mechanisms of Cockayne Syndrome;
Molecular Mechanisms of Ataxia Telangiectasia; Diseases
of DNA repair; Neurodegenerative diseases; Diabetes: an
Old Disease a New Insight, Obesity: a Practical Guide,
Thyroid: Basic Science and Clinical Practice, and Ultraviolet
light in Human Health, diseases and environment; also
as a co-author the book on Diabetes: A comprehensive
Treatise for patients and Caregivers. His most recent books
are Reactive Oxygen Species in Biology and Human Health
and Aging: Exploring a Complex Phenomenon.
