The Second International Symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases was held in Jerusalem from September 8-11, 1985, under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences, the Israel Gastroenterological Society and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School. Five hundred physicians and researchers from 26 countries attended. The symposium was organized into six panels devoted to state of the art reviews and presentations of the latest findings and approaches on etiology, pathogenesis, medical and surgical management of IBD and clini cal assessment of disease. In addition, 89 abstracts were presented as posters during the symposium, all of which were published in the book of abstracts. The concluding panel outlined new directions for future re search on IBD. The organizing committee gratefully acknowledges all the contributors who presented their work in a clear and concise manner, and to all the participants whose active role in the discussions contributed to the suc cess of the meeting. In view of the great interest in the symposium and the tradition es tablished following the first, in 1981, it was decided to convene a third international symposium on IBD in Jerusalem in September 1989."

The Third International Symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases was held in Jerusalem during September 10-13, 1989. Four hundred physicians and scientists from 25 countries attended the meeting. The symposium was organized into five panels devoted to state of the art reviews of the latest findings and approaches on the etiology, pathogenesis, metabolic implications, clinical assessment of disease activity and the medical management of IBD. Several issues were discussed in debate form. The last panel was dedicated to discussion of three patients with computer assisted active participation of all the attendants. In addition, 03 abstracts were presented as posters, all of which were published in the Book of Abstracts. The organizing committee gratefully acknowledges the contributors who presented their work in clear and concise manner and the participants, whose active part in the discussions contributed to the success of the meeting. The Jerusalem International symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases has become a tradition that will continue with the Fourth Symposium to be convened in September 1993. Joseph Zimmerman, M.D. Daniel Rachmi1ewitz, M.D. LIST OF FIRST AUTHORS Theodore M. Bayless, Michael J. Langman, Johns Hopkins University Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Birmingham, England. Michael D. Blackstone, J.E. Lennard-Jones, University of Chicago, St. Mark's Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. City Road, London, England. Charles O. Elson, Division of Gastroenterology, James Lee Madara, The University of Alabama Department of Pathology, at Birmingham, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama. Boston, Massachusetts.

An international symposium on inflammatory bowel diseases was held in Jerusalem on September 7th-9th, 1981. The symposium was sponsored by the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical SchooL and the Israeli Gastroenterological Society. The idea was to bring together leading workers in the field, to invite all those interested to present their new work on IBD and thus to enable exchange of information and cross fertilization needed to improve our understanding and handling of these diseases. The symposium was organized into four panels devoted to state of the art reviews. presentation of new findings and approaches on the follow ing topics: New pathological concepts. etiology. pathogenesis and management of IBD. In addition. 89 abstracts were presented as posters during the symposium. all of which were published in the book of abstracts. The concluding panel outlined new directions for future research on IBD. We owe our gratitude to Drs. J. B. Kirsner, G. L. Gitnick and C. E. Rubin, members of the Organizing Committee, without whose encouragement and help the symposium could not have taken place. The Organizing Committee owes a considerable debt of gratitude to all the contributors who presented their work in a clear and concise manner, to all those who presented posters and to all the participants who came from 27 countries. Their stimulating presentations and discussions con tributed to the success of the meeting."

The Third International Symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases was held in Jerusalem during September 10-13, 1989. Four hundred physicians and scientists from 25 countries attended the meeting. The symposium was organized into five panels devoted to state of the art reviews of the latest findings and approaches on the etiology, pathogenesis, metabolic implications, clinical assessment of disease activity and the medical management of IBD. Several issues were discussed in debate form. The last panel was dedicated to discussion of three patients with computer assisted active participation of all the attendants. In addition, 03 abstracts were presented as posters, all of which were published in the Book of Abstracts. The organizing committee gratefully acknowledges the contributors who presented their work in clear and concise manner and the participants, whose active part in the discussions contributed to the success of the meeting. The Jerusalem International symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases has become a tradition that will continue with the Fourth Symposium to be convened in September 1993. Joseph Zimmerman, M.D. Daniel Rachmi1ewitz, M.D. LIST OF FIRST AUTHORS Theodore M. Bayless, Michael J. Langman, Johns Hopkins University Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Birmingham, England. Michael D. Blackstone, J.E. Lennard-Jones, University of Chicago, St. Mark's Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. City Road, London, England. Charles O. Elson, Division of Gastroenterology, James Lee Madara, The University of Alabama Department of Pathology, at Birmingham, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama. Boston, Massachusetts.

The Second International Symposium on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases was held in Jerusalem from September 8-11, 1985, under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences, the Israel Gastroenterological Society and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School. Five hundred physicians and researchers from 26 countries attended. The symposium was organized into six panels devoted to state of the art reviews and presentations of the latest findings and approaches on etiology, pathogenesis, medical and surgical management of IBD and clini cal assessment of disease. In addition, 89 abstracts were presented as posters during the symposium, all of which were published in the book of abstracts. The concluding panel outlined new directions for future re search on IBD. The organizing committee gratefully acknowledges all the contributors who presented their work in a clear and concise manner, and to all the participants whose active role in the discussions contributed to the suc cess of the meeting. In view of the great interest in the symposium and the tradition es tablished following the first, in 1981, it was decided to convene a third international symposium on IBD in Jerusalem in September 1989."

Significant scientific progress has been made in recent years in the aetiopathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), that has changed or will change in the future the diagnostic and therapeutic approach in these diseases. The relevance of classical conventional IBD therapies has been critically re-evaluated under criteria of evidence-based medicine approaches. On the other hand, new therapeutic options have emerged. These include modern immunomodulators, biologics, probiotics, worm eggs and extracorporeal therapies. The clinical relevance of these new modalities is often difficult to assess for physicians who do not work frequently with IBD patients.

This book is the proceedings of the Falk Symposium No. 122 on "Inflammatory Bowel Disease - A Clinical Case Approach to Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment," held in Bologna, Italy, on June 22-23, 2001, and deals with some major issues concerning Genetics of IBD, Pediatrics in IBD, Early vs Late IBD, Bacteria and Gut Inflammation, Refractory CD, Fistulizing CD, Refractory Distal Colitis, and Complications of Ileal-Pouch Anastomosis. The main aim of the meeting was to highlight the value of an integrated clinical approach and the importance of clinical research in developing innovative methods of treatment.