The Italian Study Group on Cardiomyopathies organized in Florence in April 1997, eight years after the first successful meeting, the second international symposium devoted to "Advances in Cardiomyopathies". In these years exceptional progress has been made in the field of heart muscle diseases, in clinical research as well as in molecular biology, molec- ular genetics., pathophysiology and treatment. Many of these advances were presented and discussed in Florence by a distinguished team of international experts. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was addressed in ten papers; in the first one Seidman reported the results obtained by the use of molecular genetic tech- niques which showed that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a heterogeneous disorder caused by different mutations of different genes and discussed the clinical role and significance of genetic testing. Original data regarding the natural history and prognosis of symptomatic patients were obtained in the Italian multicentric study (Cecchi, Lazzeroni), while Baroldi discussed the clinico-pathologic spectrum of the disease in severely symptomatic patients treated with heart transplantation. Sudden death in the young (Basso), the identification and management of high risk patients (Elliott), the clinical importance and the problems of detec- tion of ischemia (Camici) were deeply discussed as well as the indications and results of different types of treatment: medical, surgical, DDD pacing (Spirito, Betocchi, Schoendube).

Ataxia-telangiectasia or A-T is a fatal progressive neurological disease of children. The symptoms indicate disruptions in the development of such diverse body parts as cerebellum, thymus and chromosomes. The patients are unduly sensitive to ionizing radiation, immunodeficient, and a third of them develops cancer. All of this stems from defects of a single gene. Provided here is an up-to-date review of all important work in thefield. A wide spectrum of topics is covered, namely genetics, chromosome 11 mapping, radiobiology, complementation, heterozygote identification, clinical variants, biochemistry, and treatment of A-T.

The Nato Advanced Study Institute on Humoral Immunity in Neurological Diseases became possible thanks to the active help of many people. I will not mention our colleagues at the neuroche- mical laboratory of the Born-Bunge Foundation : it was our common job. But I wish to thank : - the Nato and Dr. Kester for their aid, support and gene- rosity, - the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Secretary-ge- neral Mr. Grandry for their help and assistance in esta- blishing valuable contacts with many foreign countries, - the Belgian Ministry of Culture for their grant, - the National Fund for Scientific Research and the Belgian Society of Neurology for their financial support. Substantial help came from the Universitaire Instelling Ant- werpen : not only financiall~ but by allowing members of their staff to assist us 'in many ways. The Belgian Friends of the Weizmann Institute and the Belgian Medical Care for Israel helped invite some participants, and many firms made a contribution to our organization. To all of them our warmest thanks.

Atlas of Selective Lymphadenectomy for Melanoma, Breast Cancer and Colon Cancer emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach combining the experiences of a nuclear medicine physician, surgeon, and pathologist. This is an important reference also for researchers and clinicians who want to become familiar with sentinel lymph node mapping. The underlying thesis in solid tumor biology is that metastasis in general starts in an orderly progression with lymphatic spread first to the sentinel lymph node (SLN) in the nearest lymph node basin. Therefore, the logical approach is to harvest that specific SLN for thorough analysis.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons, we began to publish in 1974 this series of Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. This series was first discussed in 1972 at a combined meeting of the Italian and German Neurosurgical Societies in Taormina, the founding fathers of the series being Jean Brihaye, Bernard Pertuiset, Fritz Loew and Hugo Krayenbuhl. Thus were established the principles of European co operation which have been born from the European spirit, flourished in the European Association, and have been associated throughout with this senes. The fact that the English language is now the international medium for communication at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contri butions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume for scrutiny and suggestions for revision. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series of Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. This series was first discussed in 1972 at a combined meeting of the Italian and German Neurosurgical Societies in Taormina, the founding fathers of the series being Jean Brihaye, Bernard Pertuiset, Fritz Loew and Hugo Krayenbiihl. Thus were established the principles of European co operation which have been born from the European spirit, flourished in the European Association, and have throughout been associated with this series. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume.

Traditional textbooks in molecular biology deal with basic science and are not readily applicable to the medical setting. Most medical textbooks that include a mention of molecular pathology in the clinical setting are limited in scope and assume that the reader already has a working knowledge of the basic science of molecular biology. Other texts emphasize technology and testing procedures without integrating the clinical perspective. There is an urgent need for a text that fills the gap between basic science books and clinical practice. In the Molecular Pathology Library series the basic science and the technology is integrated with the medical perspective and clinical application. Each book in the series is divided according to neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases for each of the organ systems traditionally associated with medical subspecialties.

Each book in the series is organized to provide (1) a succinct background of the essential terminology, concepts and technology of molecular biology, (2) an overview of the broad application of molecular biology principles to disease and (3) specific application of molecular pathology to the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases specific to each organ system. These broad section topics will be broken down into succinct chapters, averaging about 15 to 20 pages each, to cover a very specific disease entity. The chapters will be written by established authorities on the specific topic from academic centers around the world. In one book, diverse subjects are included that the reader would have to pursue from multiple sources in order to have a clear understanding of the molecular pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases. Attempting to hunt for the full information from basic concept to specific applications for a disease from the varied sources is time-consuming and frustrating. By providing this quick and user-friendly reference, understanding and application of this rapidly growing field is made more accessible to both expert and generalist alike.

As books that bridge the gap between basic science and clinical understanding and practice, the Molecular Pathology Series serves the basic scientist, the clinical researcher and the practicing physician or other health care provider who require more understanding of the application of basic research to patient care, from "bench to bedside." This series is unique and an invaluable resource. These books will be indispensable to physicians and health care providers in multiple disciplines as noted above, to residents and fellows in these multiple disciplines as well as their teaching institutions and to researchers who increasingly must justify the clinical implications of their research.

The philosophy of this NATO Advanced Research Workshop and the monograph it has yielded is that if you put a small number of very talented and creative scientists of different backgrounds and documented accomplishments together in a cloistered place for a few days to consider a very important and timely topic, many new ideas will be generated. The keynote of this conference was the Future. By this we mean the expected future developments of highly reliable sequential quantitative measurements of atherosclerotic plaque size and components in living human subjects. Some of the best minds and the most experienced and talented individuals at the leading edges of imaging of arteries were involved; some of the best scientists and students of the atherosclerotic plaque and its components participated; and some of the leading investigators of the cell biology or, as we call it in the USA, the pathobiology of atherosclerosis, contributed important new information. All of these individuals were actively involved in the conference and each obviously had carefully prepared and was able to communicate effectively.

Information analysis centers were developed to help the scientist and practitioner cope with the ever increasing mass of published and unpublished information in a specific field. Their establishment resulted from a further extension of those pressures that had brought about the formation of the specialized primary journal and the abstracting services at the turn of the century. The information analysis center concept was greatly advanced by the 1963 report of the President's Science Advisory Committee Panel on Science Information. This report stated: " . . . scientific interpreters who can collect relevant data, review a field, and distill information in a manner that goes to the heart of a technical situation are more help to the overburdened specialist than is a mere pile of relevant docu ments. " Such specialized information centers are operated in closest possible contact with working scientists in the field. These centers not only furnish information about ongoing research and dis seminate and retrieve information but also create new information and develop new methods of infor mation analysis, synthesis, and dissemination. The continually expanding biomedical literature produced by scientists from the world's laboratories, research centers, and medical centers led the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke in 1964 to initiate a national Neurological Information Network of specialized centers for neurological information. The Centers are designed to bring under control and to promote ready access to important segments of the literature."

The Intemational Meeting on Vitamin B6 and Carbonyl Catalysis took place on Capri, Italy from 22nd to 27th May 1994 and was organized in conjunction with the 3rd Symposium on PQQ and Quinoproteins. It was an extraordinary occasion for scientists from all over the world to meet and discuss new developments in these overlapping fields. Several sessions were dedicated to the molecular aspects of Vitamin B6 and Quinone dependent enzymes, as well as to the cellular, biomedical and nutritional aspects. The congress was inaugurated by Paolo Fasella in his capacity as General Director of Science, Research and Development of the Commission of the European Communities, with an overview on Intemational Scientific Collaboration. The scientific sessions started with a talk on the History of Vitamin B6 given by David Metzler who at the very last minute presented Esmond Snell's paper adding some personal remarks. Unfortunately, both Esmond Snell and Alton Meister had to unexpectedly cancel the trip to Capri. These proceedings contain the papers presented as oral contributions and a few selected poster presentations. The limited number of pages meant we could not publish many interesting poster presentations, including those selected for the three lively and exciting evening poster discussion sessions called by the organizers "Vino, taralli and ... discussion".

Systematic screening for congenital hypothyroidism in the newborn was introduced some 15 years ago. The main objective was the prevention of mental retardation due to thyroid hormone deficiency during the early months of life. During the past decade screening programs have become routine throughout most of the industrialized world and many questions relating to implementation, organization and quality control of such programs have been largely resolved. Preliminary IQ and neurological data have indicated that screening and early treatment do, in fact, prevent mental retardation. However, a number of scientific questions related to congenital hypothyroidism remain unanswered and extensive research activities are ongoing in the field. The objective of the organizers of the Brussels workshop was to focus almost exclusively on these current research aspects of the screening programs. This workshop is the third international conference specifically devoted to neonatal thyroid screening. The first was held in La Malbaie in Quebec in the fall of 1979. That meeting was well organized and highly productive. Its proceedings constitute a bible in the field. After the Quebec meeting, we witnessed major and rapid advances in our understanding of neonatal thyroid physiology as well as screening methodology, organiza tion, data management, the significance of an approach to false negative and false positive results,patient follow-up, and assessment of follow-up and treatment, and the psychoneurological evaluation of affected infants. Some of these aspects were further developed during a second highly pro ductive international conference organized in Tokyo in 1982.

In the spring of 1987, nearly 350 individuals gathered in a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D. C. , to participate in a two-day medical symposium devoted to the topic of liver diseases. A small minority of this group had been attracted by what promised to be an outstanding Continuing Medical Education course. The remainder, however, although obviously interested in the content of the symposium, had come primarily to honor a man who, over the years, had profoundly touched them, personally or professionally, for the course had been conceived as a tribute to an exceptional man of medicine, a man with remarkable scholarly and personal attributes: Hyman J. Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman, referred to affectionately by all as Hy, was born in 1914 in Rochester, New York, the city in which he received both his early schooling and his undergraduate education. In the late 1930s, he moved to Palo Alto to begin his medical education at Stanford University, from which he graduated cum laude in 1942, having spent an additional year acquiring a masters degree and as World War II in bacteriology. Almost immediately thereafter, he entered military service, was in progress, was assigned to duty in France. Soon after his arrival, he was made chief of an Army field hospital. A major medical problem plaguing U. S. troops at the time was viral hepatitis, which resulted in a deluge of patients admitted to his hospital.

The physiology and pathology of membrane (contact or surface) digestion of the three main components of the food of animals and man is a rapidly developing field, and there is little doubt that newer ob servations will become available as time progresses. As the dis coverer of the phenomenon of membrane digestion, Professor Ugolev is well aware of the relative infancy of this subject, and in presenting the book at this time his primary purpose was to acquaint the reader with the experimental basis for the observed phenomenon and to stimulate interest in the further work required for the elucidation of details and for proper orientation. Translations as means of communication of ideas and experimental facts are of obvious importance and they require no apologies or explanations, particularly to those who are engaged in scientific endeavors. In making this book available to those who find the Russian language an insurmountable barrier, our main efforts were directed toward preserving the author's meaning, spirit, and intent as accurately as possible. It is hoped that this objective has been attained, and that the minor unintentional errors will be forgiven by the reader and by the author. The translator wishes to express to Professor Ugolev, whom he met in Leningrad in 1965, his appreciation for the trust in the ability of the translator to make Professor Ugolev's labor oflove, the present book, available in the English language."

All diseases involving the lung are presented in alphabetical order. Each is discussed in the same way under the subheadings of definition, epidemiology, pathophysio- logy, clinical prognosis, radiology, gross and micro patho- logy, histomorphological descriptors, special stains, hall- mark of diagnosis and differential diagnosis.
"An encyclopedic collection of terms dealing with diseases and/or pathological conditions of the respiratory organs with the aim to give the reader rapid information about the essential aspects. This encyclopedic source can be recommended not only to pathologists but also to clinicians and practitioners faced with pulmonary diseases." (Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology)

Endoscopic neurosurgical interventions gain in importance. This book gives adetailed description of the recent indi- cations of endoscopic procedures inmodern neurosurgery. They include endoscopic stereotaxy, endoscopic evacuations of intracerebral hematomas, cysts and abscesses as well as endoscopic interventions on brain tumors. An extended over- view about the usable endoscopes and the operative equipment is pointed out

This two-volume treatise, the collected effort of more than 50 authors, represents the first comprehensive survey of the chemistry and biology of the set of molecules known as peptide growth factors. Although there have been many symposia on this topic, and numerous publications of reviews dealing with selected subsets of growth factors, the entire field has never been covered in a single treatise. It is essential to do this at the present time, as the number of journal articles on peptide growth factors now makes it almost impossible for anyone person to stay informed on this subject by reading the primary literature. At the same time it is becoming increasingly apparent that these substances are of universal importance in biology and medicine and that the original classification of these molecules, based on the laboratory setting of their discovery, as "growth factors," "lymphokines," "cytokines," or "colony stimulating factors," was quite artifactual; they are in fact the basis of a com mon language for intercellular communication. As a set they affect essentially every cell in the body, and in this regard they provide the basis to develop a unified science of cell biology, germane to all of biomedical research. This treatise is divided into four main sections. After three introductory chapters, its principal focus is the detailed description of each of the major peptide growth factors in 26 individual chapters."

This book is directed primarily to advanced graduate and medical students, postdoctoral trainees, and established investigators having basic research interests in neoplasia. Its content is based in part on the lecture outlines and selected histopathology laboratory components of an advanced course entitled The Pathobiology of Experimental Animal and Human Neoplasia, developed by me for the Experimental Pathology Curriculum of the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Virginia. In this regard, an effort has been made to integrate pathology with carcinogenesis, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology in order to present a comprehensive and current view of the neoplastic process. For focus, emphasis is mainly being placed on the neoplastic cells themselves, and not on associated host-mediated responses. It ishoped that this book will accomplish its purpose of providing students and researchers who already possess strong but diverse basic science backgrounds with unifying concepts in tumor pathobiology, so as to stimulate new research aimed at furthering our understanding of neoplastic disease. I wish to express my appreciation and heartfelt thanks to the authors, whose individual ranges of expertise and research experience clearly bring to their respective chapters unique perspectives that easily transcend any redundancy that may be present. In addition, I am grateful to Drs. George Vennart, Saul Kay, and Fred Meier, and to Ms. Connie Wilkerson of the Department of Pathology at MCV, for their helpful comments and their review of some of the material.

The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) was creat ed to promote cooperative efforts toward solving critical health and safety questions involving foods, drugs, cosmet ics, chemicals, and other aspects of the environment. The officers and trustees believe that questions regarding health and safety are best resolved when government and industry rely on scientific investigations, analyses, and reviews by independent experts. Further, the scientific aspects of an issue should be examined and discussed on an international basis, separate from the political concerns of individual companies. The Institute is pleased to sponsor this set of monographs on pathology of laboratory animals. This project will help to improve the scientific application of the techniques of pathology to the evaluation of substances in our environ ment. The worldwide distribution of the authors, editors, and editorial board encourages the expectation that inter national communication and cooperation will also be strengthened. Alex Malaspina President International Life Sciences Institute Preface This book on the endocrine system is Volume I of a set of reference books on pathology of laboratory animals, prepared by the Interna tional Life Sciences Institute in response to recommendations from its Committee on Pathology and Toxicology. One aim is to provide infor mation which will be useful to pathologists, especially those involved in studies on the safety of foods, drugs, chemicals, and other sub stances in the environment."

This is an invaluable collection of information designed to help residents, fellows, and students - as well as any already qualified medical professional interested in revising the essentials of skin conditions - to master the basics of skin pathology. Using the principle of pattern recognition, it simplifies the multitude of dermatopathologic signs by using easy-to-memorize images of what the key features look like - photomnemonics. There are also helpful sections on the technical aspects of dermatopathology and on the key findings at each level of the skin. Organized simply and abundantly illustrated, this text will be an indispensable guide to revision for all its readers.

In contrast to dementia of the Alzheimer type, the subject of dementia subsequent to cerebral ischemia has been discussed rather rarely. Now this book provides a summary of the brain morphology, neurochemistry and clinical aspects of dementia subsequent to cerebral ischemia. The contributions discuss the similarities and differences between the two predominant dementia types. The broad range of aspects cover 1) the morphology and morphobiology of brain tissue during aging and under the two pathological condi- tions, 2) the neuropathochemistry of post mortem brain tissue of patients as well as brain tissue from experimental animals, 3) CSF changes during aging and in dementia states and 4) clinical research, mainly using brain imaging tech- niques to differentiate between dementia types and to find a basis for rational therapeutic approaches.

It has only recently been appreciated that the immune and skeletal systems have major interactions. It is now well documented that osteoclasts, which are important cellular mediators of skeletal homeostasis, are derived from hematopoietic precursors that also give rise to immune cells. In addition, numerous cytokines that were first shown to regulate immune cell function have also been demonstrated to regulate bone cells and influence skeletal health. Conversely, products of bone cells appear critical for the engraftment of marrow in bone, the normal development of the hematopoietic and immune systems and provide niche for long-term memory B and T cells.

In the past scientists involved in immune and bone cell investigations have rarely interacted in a significant way as these disciplines have developed independently and, for the most part, remain separate. The conference will bring together leading international scientists from both fields to interact so that new collaboration can develop and more rapid progress in understanding the relationships between these fields can be achieved. Short talks will be selected from abstracts from the international community. This conference will have a format to provide an environment of maximum interaction and interchange through lectures, posters, and open discussion.

Over 10 years have passed since the first edition of The Mediastinum was published in 1977. I have been very gratified by the response to the first edition and determined to do a second edition as soon as possible. However, good intentions are sometimes difficult to achieve and a decade has passed. This period has been one of enormous growth in the discipline of diagnostic imaging. In the study of the mediastinum, computed tomog raphy, and more recently magnetic resonance, have revolutionized our diagnostic capabilities. This second edition of the mediastinum is in tended to emphasize the importance of these modalities to the evalua tion of mediastinal disease. In addition, an attempt will be made to integrate into the text the many new and important observations relat ing to all aspects of mediastinal imaging which have appeared in the literature since 1977. The overall emphasis, however, will remain the same: that accurate radiologic diagnosis is based upon a thorough understanding of corre lated radiographic anatomy and pathology. No matter what the imag ing modality, this principle remains fundamental to each and every radiographic interpretation. I would like to express once again my deep appreciation to Dr. Stephen A. Kieffer, Chairman of the Department of Radiology at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse for his continued support and encouragement."

Bone Metastases brings together the many recent developments that are gradually improving the prospects for patients with secondary involvement of the skeleton in a primary cancer elsewhere. The morbidity from bone metastases is extensive, and the palliative and supportive treatment that sufferers require for many months or even years constitutes a major health problem. A multidisciplinary approach is essential since a variety of specialists are involved: radiation and medical oncologists, general and orthopaedic surgeons, general physicians, radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians, symptom control and terminal care specialists. The book's editors, themselves authorities in the fields of oncology and bone disease respectively, have brought together experts from all these disciplines to provide comprehensive coverage of metastatic bone disease. They cover the biology and pathophysiology, hypercalcaemia, imaging, assessment of response to treatment, types of treatment (systemic, radiotherapy, surgery), and symptomatic and supportive care. Particularly new approaches included are magnetic resonance imaging, the assessment of skeletal response and isotope therapy.

Nine years have elapsed since the second edition of this book was published. In this time the principal advances in neuromuscular diseases have been in the application of molecular genetics to understanding the aetiology and pathogenesis of this group of disorders. As a result many previously unrecognised disorders have been charac terised. Some clinical syndromes, such as the limb girdle dystrophies, have become better defined. In many such instances the new genetic information has led to major advances in knowledge of the biology of cell structures, for example, the membrane structural and channel proteins. The clinical syndromes themselves, and their patho logical and electrophysiological characteristics, however, remain as important as ever, since they constitute the clinical problem itself and, indeed, the database from which all other concepts emerge. Knowledge of the pathogenesis, genetics, and molecular biology of neuromuscular disorders is essential both in developing and applying new therapies and preventive measures, and in formulating genetic and prognostic advice. However, this informa tion does not necessarily always define clinically useful syndromes. Myotonia, for example, is an electrophysiological finding in some syndromes in which it is un detectable by clinical examination, although the phenomenon itself was originally defined as a clinical entity. The limb girdle muscular dystrophy syndromes can be defined by severity, distribution of weakness, age of onset, sex distribution and other characteristics and many of these can be better understood by study of the under lying defect in cell structural proteins.

In a condition of such complexity as bronchial carcinoma and at a time when the scientist's understanding of malignant disease is still incomplete, it is inevitable that views within the medical profession will proliferate. This book is an attempt to assemble these views in the light of 33 years of surgical experience and is intended for those specialists who will be concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in the foreseeable future. The wide clinical experience of the contributing authors has ena bled every aspect of this disease to be considered, with emphasis being placed on diagnostic techniques such as CT scanning and fine needle transpleural biopsy, as well as on the latest method of treatment by lasers. Bronchial carcinoma remains the major cause of cancer death in the United Kingdom, accounting for 60Jo of all deaths. While the incidence has decreased slightly in the male population, there has been an equivalent increase in the female population.