Mechanism of Action and Rationale for the Use of Biological Response Modifiers, Differentiating Agents and Nucleoside Analogues in Combination: Cytokine Synergy in Immunotherapy (J.W. Hadden et al.). Monitoring Combination Therapy Trials (J.L. Rossio et al.). Combination Chemotherapy and BRM Therapy in the Treatment of Cancer: Cancer Immunochemotherapy (G. Graziani et al.). Combination of Chronic Indomethacin and Intermittent IL2 Therapy in the Treatment of Disseminated Cancer (P.K. Lala et al.). Biological Response Modifiers and Differentiating Agents in Myelodisplastic Syndromes (A. Venditti et al.). Single and Combination Therapy with BRM's in the Treatment of Infectious Diseases, AIDS, and Autoimmunity: AntiCytokine Therapy of Murine Candidiasis (L. Romani et al.). The Basic Research and Clinical Application of Thymopeptidin (C.X. Zheng et al.). Combination AntiHIV Therapy (T.C. Merigan). 22 additional articles. Index.

Combination Immunotherapy: Immune Therapy of Human Cancers (R.P. Gale, A. Butturini). Clinical Applications of Combination Chemoimmunotherapy in Cancer: Combination of Fluorouracil and Interfon (R. Pazdur). Combination Approaches and Gene Therapy in the Treatment of AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases: Combination Therapies with Cytokines and AntiCytokines in Murine Opportunistic Infections (L. Romani et al.). Mechanism of Action and Synergy Between Drugs, Biological Response Modifiers and/or Vaccines in Combination Therapies: The Case for Synergy of Thymic Hormones and Interleukins in Immune Reconstitution (J.W. Hadden et al.). Immune Mediated Tumor Destruction (P.M. Sondel). Prospects and Future Directions Using Animal Models to Define Effective Combination Therapies with Biological Response Modifiers: Cancer Immunotherapy (L. Tentori et al.). 29 additional articles. Index.

Traditional methods of medical education and training are changing rapidly. This volume integrates the printed text--as provided by leading experts in science and medicine--with multimedia applications using desktop conferencing and the Internet in the delivery of instruction. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The George Washington University Medical Center, with the support of an unrestricted educational grant from the Healthcare Education Department of Glaxo Welcome, Inc. , has created a distance-learning lecture series on the Internet for continuing medical education. In this lecture series, leading scientists and physicians discussed the most current as well as future projected treatments of prominent afflictions of mankind. These chosen speakers, who are at the forefront of research and treatment in the field of biomedicine, build a structural framework for the audience in their field of expertise, and from there looked into their crystal ball and discussed their view of the future. The lectures, approximately one hour in length, were broadcast live from The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D. C. as part of the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds. These lectures will be available on the Internet until 2001. In partnership with Medical Consumer Media, the lectures were simultaneously broadcast live around the world via the Internet with real-time audio streaming and digitized 35mm slide presentation. The lecture format was designed to foster questions which went beyond basic science and current treatments.

Over the past decade many of the key lymphokines, hormones and growth factors that help regulate the immune system have been defined. These molecules, termed biological response modifiers (BRMs) , have been sequenced, synthesized and produced in large enough quantities to test in animals and humans resulting in the development of new approaches to the treatment of human disease, in particular, cancers and infectious diseases. Advances in this area have also led to rethinking therapies against a range of autoimmune disorders and other diseases associated with immune and endocrine imbalances. BRMs currently are being applied clinically as both primary and adjunctive therapy to enhance the effectiveness of traditional treatments by maximizing their activities and to protect critical tissues against intolerable chemotherapeutic and radiation damage. Present constraints against the use of BRMs revolve around the nature of these substances in vivo, where many of their actions and the majority of their interactions and synergies remain to be elucidated. For example, as these molecules are thought to exert their effects locally, the systemic administration of lymphokines, cytokines and growth factors at doses adequate to produce a wanted anti-tumor effect in many instances is intolerably toxic. Efforts to overcome this formidable problem have led scientists to begin to explore the transfer of genes known to encode for these molecules into cells which otherwise inadequately elicit or produce anti-tumor or anti-infective responses.

The VIIIth Annual International Spring Symposium on Health Sciences held at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., attracted over three hun dred fifty scientists from twenty-five countries. The leading scientific experts in the field reported on recent biomedical advances in aging. They provided an up-to-date account of the molecular, genetic, nutritional, and immunological mechanisms associated with the aging process and approaches to intervention and treatment of the major disorders associated with the aging process, including Alzheimer's disease. A unique aspect of this meeting was a concurrent one-day hearing of the U.S. Senate Sub-Committee on Aging, organized by the Alliance for Aging Research. The theme for the hearing was "Advances in Aging Research." Seven scientists attending our aging sym posium were asked to testify. They were Drs. Carl Cotman (University of California-Irvine), Trudy Bush (Johns Hopkins University), Takashi Makinodan (University of California-Los Angeles), William Ershler (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Gino Doria (ENEA, Rome), Mr. Dan Perry (Director of the Alliance for Aging Research), and myself."