Apoptosis II: Apoptosis in the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases.

This review presents the implications of abnormal regulation of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, some of them characterized by a failure of cells to undergo apoptosis, and the others characterized by cell loss. The new perspectives in the therapy of such diseases by developing therapeutic agents that increase or decrease the susceptibility of particular cells to apoptosis are also reviewed.