The past two decades have seen steady progress in our understanding of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The role of low density lipoprotein (LOL) increase and of LOL receptor deficiency or malfunctions in familial hypercholesterolemia has been largely enlightened by the works of Brown and Goldstein. These authors postulated also that modification of LOL to a form recognized by the scavenger or acetyl-LOL receptor may be required for lipid loading of macrophage-derived foam cells in the lesions. A growing body of evidence suggests that oxidative modification of LOL could enhance its atherogenicity by its implication as a factor in the generation of foam cells. Thus, if the role of LOL in the pathogenesis of hypercholesterolemia was well established a great deal of information appears currently on new approaches such as the mechanisms leading to the accumulation of foam cells, the impact of LOL structural alterations, notably oxidation and the role of gene mutations of apolipoprotein Band/or LOL receptor The opening topic is devoted to these new avenues outlined in the field of hypercholesterolemia. The first part concerns the genetic aspects of atherosclerosis: mainly the genetics of apo 1 ipoprote ins , their transcriptional regulation, the amino acid mutations of the apo B gene and of the LOL receptor gene, the structural domains and the acylation sites of apoprotein B.

This third installment of The Year in Diabetes and Obesity review series includes reviews with a special focus on metabolic syndrome and health. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1749-6632. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.

The 6th triennial meeting of the International Study Group for Tryp- tophan Research (ISTRY) was held May 9-12, 1989 in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). From the wide variety of topics and disciplines represented, as documented in this volume, it is clear that tryptophan research and ISTRY are alive and well. ISTRY traces its or1g1ns to at a tryptophan symposium organized in 1971 by H. Schievelbein at Hohenried near Munich (Germany). Up to that time there had been occasional international tryptophan conferences at irregular inter- vals. A number of participants at the Hohenried meeting felt that an inter- national tryptophan organization should be formed to organize regular meet- ings and to foster collaboration and information exchange on tryptophan-re- lated topics. Thanks mainly to the founding work of H. Schievelbein and W. Kochen, an executive committee was elected and ISTRY was born. The inaugural meeting in 1974 was held in Padova (Italy) to honor L. Musajo, one of the foremost pioneers in tryptophan studies. This first ISTRY meeting was suc- cessfully organized by L. Musajo, G. Allegri, A. De Antoni, and C. Costa, and was critical in assuring the viability of the new organization. Subsequent meetings were held in 1977 in Madison, Wisconsin (USA), organized by R.R. Brown, D.P. Rose, and W.E. Knox, honoring C.P. Berg; 1980 in Kyoto (Japan), organized by O. Hayaishi, R. Kido, Y. Ishimura, T. Deguchi, T. Hino, T.

Insulin pump therapy is now a well-established option for treating diabetes. This method of insulin delivery offers the opportunity for people with diabetes to manage their diabetes confidently and competently to achieve good glycaemic control and a better quality of life. "Using Insulin Pumps in Diabetes" covers all aspects of insulin pump therapy in a clear and informative style, and is an essential guide for all health professionals involved in caring for people with diabetes using insulin pumps.

"Using Insulin Pumps in Diabetes" explores issues such as the advantages and disadvantages of insulin pump therapy; the experiences of insulin pump users, how to set up an insulin pump service, how to set and adjust insulin doses and optimising glycaemic control. It also includes chapters on insulin pumps in pregnancy, and in babies, toddlers and young children.

We are especially grateful to Dr. Philip Corfman and his colleagues of the Population and Reproduction Grants Branch of NICHD for making this Conference possible. The format of this volume follows in general the order in which the papers were presented during the Conference. The Conference was divided into four sessions, each of which was presided over by a capable and distinguished scientist. Each of these chairmen, Drs. T. H. Hamilton, G. A. Puca, R. L. Vande Wiele and H. G. Williams-Ashman provided valuable discussion and for their services we are most appreciative. The Editors are indebted to Mr. Robert Colligan for his help in organizing and in redacting the manuscripts. A special commen dation is also extended to Ms. Mary Jane Fowler who cheerfully and efficiently typed this entire volume. Finally, we express thanks to the individual participants of the Conference for their cooperation and prompt submission of the manuscripts and to the Plenum Press for ensuring the rapid publica tion of this volume. Anthony R. Means, Ph.D. Bert W. O'Malley, M. D."

Most of us spend at least two-thirds of our lives either sitting or standing. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, to find not a single book devoted to disorders caused by derangements of the normal physiological adjustments to changes in posture. In fact, until very recently, medical students have not even been advised to measure the blood pressure and heart rate in the upright posture as part of the routine physical examination. Although Bradbury and Eggleston first described orthostatic hypotension as a consequence of autonomic insufficiency in 1925, interest in orthostatic disorders has been slow to develop in the subsequent years. It is well known that the change from recumbency to the standing posture stimulates neurological, endocrine, and cardiovascular adjustments that ensure maintenance of a normal circulation despite the effects of gravitational forces. The mechanisms of these physiological responses to orthostasis have been stud ied by many investigators. Some of the defects to which antigravitational com pensatory mechanisms are subject, such as postural hypotension resulting from autonomic failure, have been studied intensively and have become part of the general knowledge of most medical practitioners. Other orthostatic disorders such as various other postural abnormalities of blood pressure control, and orthostatic edema-have received far less attention and have been unable to compete with the more dramatic and life-threatening ailments of humankind for a place in our standard medical texts. These disorders often give rise to distressing symptoms and may lead to severe impairment of health.

The areas of experimental and clinical psychopharmacology have continued to grow in terms of the numbers of studies appearing in the literature as well as the activity generated by other disciplines that has influenced the output of behavioral pharmacology research. Psychoactive drugs have been considered for their comparative effects upon selected behaviors or for their effect upon diverse behaviors. Behavioral circum stances certainly influence not only the metabolism and action of psycho tropic drugs behaviorally, but also the disposition of these agents and/ or their metabolites in regions of the central nervous system. There can hardly be a psychopharmacology without a neuropharmacology, and the latter would seem to depend upon a neurochemistry. There would appear to be variables that exert potent influences upon the disposition and action of psychotropic drugs, that also relate quite directly to their effects upon behavior; these include drug interactions, nutritional status, environmental effects such as temperature, photic and tactile stimulation, and stress, and the basal status upon which such drug treatment is superimposed. In this volume of Current Developments in Psychopharmacology, which will be the last to appear in this format, we have sought to focus upon a series of current topical reviews that highlight representative areas of experimental and clinical research activity in psychopharmacology. In the first chapter, Dr. Lagerspetz reviews a frequently neglected aspect of psychopharmacological research-the actions of psychoactive agents upon the nervous system and behavior of non-mammalian species."

Diabetes. Its Medical and Cultural History covers the history of scientific inquiry into this affliction from antiquity to the discovery of insulin (1921) with concurrent consideration of the history of the patient and the cultural historical background. The reprints of medical historical studies discuss general relationships as well as specific details and exceptional research achievements of the past. Included in the bibliography of primary sources are the most important historical contributions in diabetic research and diabetic therapy with the author's name and information on the place of publication. The bibliography of secondary literature consolidates international studies from the past century to the present on the history of the theory of diabetes and therapeutic approaches. Illustrations and literary texts document cultural historical relationships. In index of persons and items facilitates use of this work which is intended to provide a stimulus for the physician, medical historian, medical student, general historian as well as diabetics themselves.

The central nervous system controls vital functions by ef?ciently coordinating peripheral and central cascades of signals and networks in an orchestrated manner. Historically, the brain was considered to be insulin independent. These earlier views have been challenged by ?ndings demonstrating that insulin exerts multiple actions in the brain, regulating vital biological processes such as life span, neuronal survival, cognition, reproduction, feeding behavior, energy balance, and glucose and fat metabolism, and that inef?cient central action of insulin contributes to the development of severe pathologies (Banks et al. 2000; Gerozissis 2003, 2004, 2008; Lustman and Clouse 2005; Okamoto et al. 2001; Park 2002; Perrin et al. 2004; Pocai et al. 2005; Reger et al. 2008; Schwartz and Porte, 2005; Schubert et al. 2004; van der Heide et al. 2005; Woods et al. 1979; Wrighten et al. 2008). Insulin and speci?c insulin receptors are widely distributed in the networks of the central nervous system related mainly to feeding or cognition (Baskin et al. 1983; Bruning et al. 2000; Gerozissis 2003, 2008; Havrankova et al. 1978a, b; Schechter et al. 1996; Schulingkamp et al. 2000; Schwartz et al. 1992; Zhao et al. 2004). Insulin receptors located in the synapses of neurons and in astrocytes are present in high concentrations in the cerebral cortex, olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum and hypothalamus (Abbott et al., 1999; Havrankova et al.

I consider it an honor to have been asked to write the Foreword for The Diabetic Pancreas. Although I have been involved in the study of the pancreas since 1921, my interest goes back even further to the time, in 1918, that my father's sister, a nurse who had trained at the Massachusetts General Hospit.al, devel oped diabetes, lost weight, and died in diabetic coma. This sad event made a deep impression on me and was certainly pardy responsible for my choosing to join the Department of Physiology of the University of Toronto to begin a career in research into diabetes. This is not the place to describe in detail the wide-ranging research and study of the diabetic pancreas in which I have engaged in the past 56 years. Suffice it to say that I am familiar enough with the subject area to be able to predict a great future for this book. The editors have undertaken a very ambitious and worthwhile project, and their efforts have been supported and strengthened by contributors who are respected authorities in their fields, thus ensuring a successful presentation of this major work."

Fundamental to survival of living organisms is their ability to react appropri ately to their environment. Cannon (1929) recognized that "back of internal homeostatic mechanisms are powerful motivating agencies-appetites and hunger and thirst." Almost all observed behavior may be viewed as activity required to meet some physical or emotional need. "The higher in the scale of living things, the more numerous, the more perfect, and the more compli cated do these regulatory agencies become." This statement by Fredricq (1885) regarding internal mechanisms is at least as valid for behavior. Adrenal medullary secretion in preparation of "fight or flight" may be con sidered the first described behavioral neuroendocrine response. The conse quences of more prolonged stress on pituitary-adrenal cortical function and the subsequent unfolding of the means by which the brain controls the secre tion of the anterior and posterior pituitary glands led to the birth of neuroen docrinology. During the last decade, neuroendocrinology has taken a remarkable turn. Peptides which were believed at first to be involved solely in control of the pituitary by the hypothalamus were found in other areas of the brain. Other peptides were encountered in brain by their activity in competing for the high affinity binding of drugs to their receptors, and still others, first found in peripheral organs, were discovered also in brain. Perhaps even more amaz ing was the discovery that one or another of these peptides influence almost every aspect of behavior."

It is curious that research in endocrinology has largely ignored the testis until quite recently. There were two impor tant reasons for this neglect; first, methods of study were difficult, and second, sperinatogenesis was considered to be the concern of the urologist or cell biologist but not the endocrinologist. Since it is now almost an ethical imperative that we develop a male contraceptive, and since a host of new techniques can be brought to bear on problems of testis function, research in male reproductive biology has effloresced. In fact, it has become possible to project aseries of workshops on the testis, each dealing with discrete aspects of biochemistry, physiology and pathology. It is fitting that this first Workshop should be on Binding and Activation, since this area is one of the frontiers in endocrinol ogy. At our present rate of progress it is probable that each of the succeeding workshops will likewise bring together leaders in a rapidly developing area. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has the major Federal respon sibility in reproductive biology, and has therefore agreed to sponsor this and succeeding workshops. On behalf of the Institute and for those members of the Committee who have organized this meeting, I welcome you. I am quite sure that this first Workshop on the Testis will initiate aseries of important contributions to scientific thought in male reproduc tive biology. Mortimer B. Lipsett, M. D."

Paget's disease is an old disease historically, but a new disease therapeutic ally. Human remains unearthed in Lancashire, England, dating from ap proximately 900 AD, show clear evidence of the aftliction. However, it was not until the 1800s that physicians rediscovered the condition, and a little more than 100 years ago that Sir James Paget published a perceptive and accurate description of the disease from the clinical and pathologic points of view. He felt the disease represented an inflammatory condition of the skeleton and hence named it osteitis deformans. The condition again lapsed into anonymity for several decades afterwards, and therapeutic approaches did not evolve until after World War II when several groups, located mainly in the Boston area, began using a variety of agents, includ ing corticosteroids for treatment of this condition. These early attempts at therapy were unsuccessful and the condition remained essentially untreat able until the development of the calcitonins and the bisphosphonates in the 1970s. In 1978, the Paget's Disease Foundation, a private nonprofit volun tary health agency, was founded to assist individuals aftlicted by Paget's disease of bone, to provide education regarding this condition to the medical community, and to encourage research efforts to better under stand and treat the condition. An international conference was organized under the aegis of the Paget's Disease Foundation and was held in New York City in October, 1989, ten years after the founding of the Paget's Disease Foundation."

Tumours of the prostate are the commonest types of neoplasm in the male. Whilst the benign form is virtually a universal condition in the ageing male, malignant tumours rank amongst the top causes of cancer death. Despite the fact that the involvement of the testis in the growth of the prostate has been recognised for almost two centuries, it was not until the early 1940s that Charles Huggins' studies on the effect of orchidectomy and oestrogen therapy on prostatic cancer initiated endocrine manipulation in the management of this malignancy. During the 1960s progress in the understanding of the mechanism of hormone action, achieved through advances in molecular biology and the recognition of certain aspects of hormonal control in relation to the genome, introduced a new dimension for approaching endocrine manipulation of prostatic tumours. By the end of that decade a new scientific discipline devoted to prostate research had been born, which brought together investigators in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, endocrinology, immunology, urology and pathology to search for the cause and to explore methods for advancing the management of abnormal prostatic growth. Since then a wealth of scientific data has accumulated on the prostate in which endocrinology has manifested itself as the cardinal aspect to which most of the findings can be related.

This volume is devoted to the chemistry, immunology, molecular biology, and physiology of the human chorionic gonadotropin, heG. For this glycoprotein molecule the course from discovery to chemical deciphering covered about fifty years. It was in 1928 that Ascheim and Zondek reported that urine from pregnant women contains something that stimulates the ovaries of mice or rats. This provided the basis for the famous A-Z test for pregnancy and for the "rabbit test" modification introduced by Friedman. As researchers sought to find more sensitive responses to heG, they used a wide variety of species including the South African aquatic toad, Xenopus Zaevis, the terrestrial toad of South America, Bufo arinarus, and the African weaver finch, EupZeetes afra. The weaver finch feather reaction was particularly noteworthy, for it disclosed a non-gonadal response to heG/LH. In retrospect, this may have been an important evolutionary clue to the realization that the designation of the hormone as a "gonadotropin" may have been only partially descriptive of the molecule's physiological function--a concept that is gaining attention, as the papers in this 1980 volume divulge.

This volume contains the papers presented at the Inter- national Symposium on "Cirrhosis, Hepatic Encephalopathy and Ammonium Toxicity", held in Valencia, Spain, November 27-29, 1989. Hepatic cirrhosis as well as other liver failures usual- ly lead to hepatic encephalopathy which is an important cause of death in occidental countries. However the molecular bases of the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy remain unclear and several hypotheses have been proposed. Hyperammonemia is considered one of the main factors responsible for the mediation of hepatic encephalopathy. Therefore, a part of the book is devoted to the effects of hyperammonemia on cerebral function, ammonia and amino acid metabolism, brain microtobules, astrocytes and synaptic trans- mission and their possible role in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. Carnitine has a remarkable protective effect against acute ammonium intoxication. Thus some results regarding this effect are also presented, as well as the clinical use of car- nitine. The alterations of the metabolism of ammonia and of seda- tives in liver diseases and their clinical implications are also discussed. The possible role of altered GABA-ergic neurotransmission on the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy has received considerable attention recently. Results of these studies and those on benzodiazepine receptor ligands are presented as well as those on the hypothesis of the role of altered synaptic plasma membrane on the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy.

Diabetes is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. It was first mentioned in the Ebers Payrus (Egypt 1500 BC) and 'honey urine' was noted by Sushrutha in India in 400 BC. By the first century of the Christian era the disease was well known, both in Roman writings and in Chinese and Japanese writings. The word 'diabetes' was first coined by the Greeks. It means a passing-through of water. They described it as a 'melting of flesh into water', meaning urine. Then in 1674 Doctor Willis discovered by heating, tasting and evaporating urine that a sweet sticky substance was in it, which, of course, was sugar. Rut sugar was not known in England in those days and honey was the only real sweet tasting substance. The Latin word 'mel' which means honey was used and the disease came to be known as diabetes mellitus - that is, the passing of honeyed urine. This is still the full name of the disease.

The elucidation of the structure, function, and clinical significance of the neurohypophysis has been one of the most rewarding chapters in the history of endocrinology. Diabetes insipidus, which can be manifested by passage of 15 liters of urine a day, is one of the most dramatic disorders of the endocrine system, and can readily be managed by replacement therapy with the natural secretions of this gland, or with synthetic analogues that provide a more favorable therapeutic ratio. The neurohypophysis is the archetypical neurosecretory gland. Its secretions arise within well defined nerve cells in the hypothalamus, are transported by axoplasmic flow to nerve endings in the neural lobe, are released in response to propagated action potentials, and are regulated by neurotransmitters and osmotic signals. This gland is a model for homeostatic regulation; functional disorders of this regulation lead to well defined disorders such as the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidi uretic hormone (SIADH), which can be mimicked by the ectopic secretion of its hormones by tumor cells. These hormones were the first peptides to be sequenced and synthesized chemically and their structure-function relations have been characterized as well as those of any of the peptide hormones. The concept that peptide hormones generally arise as products of the processing of a larger prohormone precursor was first developed from studies of the neurohypophysis. The concept of stimulus-secretion coupling was first ap plied in neuronal tissue to the neurohypophysis.

During the past several decades, much research effort has gone into the elucidation of the role of neuroendocrine systems as secretory and metabolic regulators of cells of a variety of organs and structures, including the testes, ovaries, adrenals, thyroid, pituitary gland, and mammary glands. However, the role of cells comprising such organs and structures in the modulation of neuroendocrine processes has received considerably less is generally less well appreciated. attention and Nonetheless, it is important that we understand the actions on neuroendocrine systems of substances that reach the brain by way of the vasculature, including hormones, cytokines, toxins, amino acids, drugs, and similar agents. In order to analyze the present state of knowledge on this topic, experimental scientists and clinicians, whose shared interests include actions of circulating agents on the brain, met at a satellite symposium of the XXXI International Congress of Physiological Sciences. This symposium, entitled Circulating Regulatory Factors and Neuroendocrine Function, was held in Smolenice Castle, Czechoslovakia, June 26-July 1, 1989, and reviews delivered at this symposium as invited presentations are published in this volume. Presentations given as free communications have been published separately and are available in Endocrinologia Experimentalis 24: 1-273, 1990.

THE DISCOVERY OF INSULIN, C-PEPTIDE AND PROINSULlN, SPECIES DIFFERENCES Crude insulin was extracted and isolated from dog pancreases removed 7-1 Degrees weeks after ligation of the pancreatic duct for the first time in 1921 by Banting and Best. Its lifesaving properties were subsequently documented in pancreatectomized dogs in 1922. Only about six months elapsed from its discovery until systematic collection of calf and ox pancreases and, later, porcine pancreases was established and the blood glucose lowering effect in diabetics using the crude extract from these glands proven. It was not until 1960, however, that the primary structure of all three species of insulin, lO7 human, porcine and bovine, was elucidated . It then became evident that the differences between bovine, porcine and human insulin amounted to at mosl 3 amino acids. These apparently small differences have a significant impact on the physico-chemical characteristics of the three insulins which again affect, e.g., the rate of absorption of insulin lO9 preparations from the subcutaneous tissue and their immunogenicity, i.e.

Diabetes, particularly type 2, has become increasingly more common around the world. Consequently, the effect of diabetes on the brain has achieved enormous public health importance. A surge in pre-clinical and clinical research on topics ranging from management of hyperglycemia in acute stroke to disturbances in insulin signaling in Alzheimer s disease has led to substantial progress in the field. Written by a panel of international experts, Diabetes and the Brain provides in depth reviews on the cerebral complications of diabetes, and offers introductory chapters on current insights on the pathophysiology and clinical management of diabetes, as well as neuropsychological assessment and dementia. This relevant and easily accessible book explains the cerebral complications of diabetes, with an update on diabetes for neurologists, psychiatrists, and mental health providers and researchers in general, and on stroke and dementia for those involved in research and clinical practice in diabetes."

A. CORBIN Investigations on LHRH and its analogs have just completed their first decade. We have witnessed a veritable explosion of chemical, physiologic and pharmacologic data on this hypothalamic peptide and the approximately 1500 agonist and antagonist analogs that have been synthesized. In order to track this expanding field, I was asked to organize an international symposium on basic and clinical aspects of LHRH analogs as part of the Reproductive Health Care: CDS Symposium held in Maui, Hawaii, in October 1982. This meeting brought together a number of the leading investigators in the field. Much new state-of-the-art information was presented which I and my colleagues felt deserved a wider audience. Drs Vickery, Nestor, and Hafez consented to undertake this task. Upon review of the literature, it was apparent that there was no recent text which fully covered the breadth of developments in the field. Accordingly, the editors decided to use the symposium as a nucleus on which to build a singular, comprehensive state-of-the-art analysis of this rapidly growing discipline, and the application of such knowledge to reproductive medicine. As exemplified by the various areas of expertise provided by the individual contributors, it becomes obvious that the scope of the subject matter, while relating solely to a well-defined chemical class (LHRH analogs) and a circumscribed physiologic and pharmacologic entity (reproduction), has expanded enormously.

The actions of honnones upon systems outside of the usual target sites for such molecules represents an area of increasing interest and growing clinical significance. This volume represents a cross-section of such actions of honnones upon several relevant sites. In the first chapter of this volume Dr. Malick discusses the current status of endorphins as analgesic agents. It is now known that a more primary level of control exists for iJ-endorphin in that a 41-amino acid pep- tide has been isolated from ovine hypothalamus; this peptide stimulates iJ-endorphin release as well as the secretion of corticotropin (Vale et al. , 1981). The analgesic properties of corticotropin and its immunoactive-like analogs are well known. so it does not come as a surprise that these two classes of analgesic peptides are regulated by a common hypothalamic con- trol peptide. It may also be of interest to observe that an increase in iJ-en- dorphin concentration in the pituitary occurs in genetically obese mice and rats, and that such obesity can be attenuated through the administration of nalaxone (Margules et al. , 1978). It has also been determined that genet- ically obese mice have a probable cholecystokinin deficiency in the cerebral cortex in that this peptide is a satiety-inducing agent (Saito, et al. , 1981). The analgesic properties of the latter have also been observed. The extra-pituitary actions of another pituitary peptide, as examined in the second chapter of this volume by Dr.

These Proceedinqs of the Midwest Conference on Endocrinology and Metabolism are being published by Plenum Press for the first time. Earlier Proceedings in the series Vlere published by the University of Missouri at Columbia. The shift to an internationally recognized pub lisher reflects the considerable growth in stature that the Midwest Con ferences have undergone since their inception nine years ago. Originally concerned only with the endocrinology of the thyroid, the Conferences now explore other endocrine areas. Efforts are made to assemble a panel of speakers selected from different sub-disciplines within endocrinology for the purpose of addressing a common problem. The Ninth Conference typifi es til i s approach. The format used in recent Conferences is not unique, but is unfor tunately encountered too rarely. A few prominent scholars are invited to come together to expound their findings and concepts in considerable depth, and to participate in a discussion which, together with the for mal presentation, is published in the Proceedings. The discussion, noted for its unhurried nature, permits wide participation by the audi ence. The subject of the Ninth Conference is one which is basic and im portant not only to endocrinology but also to biology in general. Many, possibly most, life processes change in a rhythmic fashion, with similar states recurring at regular time intervals. This rhythmic property of living systems expresses itself as a recognizable and definable pattern or "time-form" in a manner equivalent to the more customary spatial form."

The Seventh International Congress of Mucosal Immunology held in Prague, the beautiful old capital of The Czech Republic, 16-20 August 1992, was the first to be sponsored by the Society for Mucosal Immunology, and was the largest since their inception 20 years earlier in Birmingham, Alabama. It was attended by 624 participants who gave 538 presentations, more than 10 times the numbers of the first meeting; these proceedings contain 354 papers that were submitted for publication. The political events in Europe that made it possible to hold this Congress in Prague also allowed for the first time the participation of large numbers of scientists from Eastern Europe, as weil as from Asia, and the organizers were truly gratified by this happy circumstance. It is now clear not only that mucosal immunityencompasses the huge area of mucosal surfaces and most physiological organ systems, but also that mucosal immunology extends over the whole global surface and all continents! The sheer size of the Congress and number of manuscripts unfortunately entailed some unexpected problems in editing and assembling the proceedings, partly due to the diversity of linguistic styles not represented at earlier meetings, and we apologize to the authors who have patiently awaited the publication of their contributions.