Synonyms
Astrocytosis; Glioses
Definition
Gliosis refers to proliferation of glial cells, either by hypertrophy (increased cell size) or hyperplasia (increased cellular division), in response to a CNS insult. For example, gliosis may occur in order to encapsulate a brain tumor or to provide scaffolding to support healthy tissue surrounding areas of insult or lesion. In many cases, gliosis leads to scarring within the CNS. Depending on the type of insult, gliosis can affect different glial cell subpopulations, primarily astrocytes and microglia and to a lesser extent oligodendrocytes. Gliosis is one of the principal histopathological indicators of brain damage.
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References and Readings
Croisier, E., & Graeber, M. (2006). Glial degeneration and reactive gliosis in alpha-synucleinopathies: The emerging concept of primary gliodegeneration. Acta Neruopathologica, 112, 517–530.
Kumar, V., Fausto, N., & Abbas, A. (2004). Robbins & Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders.
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Larson, J.C.G., Suchy, Y. (2018). Gliosis. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_526
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_526
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