Many advances have occurred in the last 5 years especially in understanding genetic susceptibility factors, the role of immune response in chronic arthritis and the relationship between cellular processes that underlie inflammation and tissue damage. All these are dealt with in depth in the individual contributions. Genetics studies included illustrate how studies of HLA genes and genes controlling the autoantibody repertoire may be involved. Environmental factors are believed to be important and studies both in humans and in experimental models on the role of viral and bacterial agents are covered. The fascinating relationship between microbes, dysregulated immune responses and oncogenes are also examined. Since autoimmunity is the key aspect of the immunological response in rheumatoid arthritis, the role of antigens is re-examined as is the part played by immune T and B cells. New areas of clinical application of basic science is well presented in this book, forexample, in examining how markers of cartilage destruction may become important in monitoring disease activity. A chapter reviewing possible future novel therapies is included.

The 1st International Workshop in the Molecular and Cell Biology of Autoan tibodies and Autoimmunity is convened at a time when recombinant DNA tech niques have yielded the first set of data providing initial glimpses of epitopes recognized by autoantibodies. It's aim is to bring together cell and molecular biologists with clinical scien tists to discuss the broad spectrum of questions concerning the relationship be tween clinical symptoms and the specificity of autoantibodies. The response to the call for abstracts was overwhelming: Nearly one hundred abstracts were received from many laboratories throughout the world. The topics covered by them are representative of the current research efforts going on to study cause and effect of autoimmune diseases. One of the aims of this workshop is to bring the rapid advances in the elucidation of the molecular structure of auto antigens to the attention of immunologists, cell biologists and clinical scien tists and also to make molecular biologists bei6ple aware of the difficulties lying ahead in trying to understand the cellular and molecular basis of rheumatic dis eases. The organisers wish to thank NIH, BMFT and the Japanese Educational Foundation for financial support, the Heidelberg Academy for the Humanities and Sciences for hosting the workshop, Springer Verlag for their generous cooperation in including late abstracts in this volume, and, last not least, Ms. Simone KRAMBS for untiring secretarial help."

Das Buch fuhrt ein in die Grundlagen der Immunologie, der Pathologie und der Pharmako-Therapie rheumatologischer Krankheiten. Es will sowohl Studenten als auch den praktizierenden Arzt in die Diagnose, Differentialdiagnose und die derzeit zur Verfugung stehenden Therapiemoeglichkeiten einweisen. Neben der Beschreibung pathogener Mechanismen, der klinischen Symptomatik sowie der Therapiemodalitat gibt der Autor praktische Tips zur klinischen Untersuchung von Rheumapatienten. Ausserdem diskutiert er die klinische Relevanz von Laborparametern fur die Disgnose und Differentialdiagnose rheumatischer Krankheitsbilder. Die ubersichtliche, sinnvoll zusammenfassende Darstellung des Themas wird erganzt von einer grossen Zahl von anwendbaren Ratschlagen fur die Praxis niedergelassener und klinisch tatiger AErzte.