The application of molecular techniques to gastroenterology continues to yield important advances in the development of drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Important new drugs have emerged through the collaborative and complementary efforts of basic scientists, clinicians, and clinical researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The challenge has been exciting, with a few surprises along the way. Consider peptic ulcer disease as an example. The discovery of H receptors and the availability of potent and 2 selective H-receptor antagonists signaled the beginning of a new era 2 in the treatment of gastric hypersecretory states and peptic ulcers. Introduction of proton pump inhibitors offered another therapeutic option. Though H-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors 2 are important and useful drugs, the discovery of the link between H. pylori infection and peptic ulcer disease has led to even more effective pharmacotherapeutic regimens. Our intent in Drug Development: Molecular Targets for GI Diseases is to bring together hands-on experts to review promising areas of gastrointestinal pharmacology. The contemporary topics covered, from a mechanistic viewpoint, are relevant to gastrointestinal inflammation and motility disorders. Authoritative opinions are offered on both future research directions and potential applications for new therapies.

The Gastrointestinal Section of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) was established in 1994 in Montreal, Canada. The establishment of the GI Section recognizes the international progress of gastrointestinal pharmacology, including basic and human studies. The Gastrointestinal Section of IUPHAR organized the first symposium, Biochemical Pharmacology as an Approach to Gastrointestinal Diseases: Basic Science to Clinical Perspectives, on 10-12 October, 1995, in Pecs, Hungary. The main topics covered include: gastrointestinal secretory and excretory functions; gastrointestinal mobility - biochemical-pharmacological mechanisms in neural and hormonal actions involved in GI functions; main normal and pathological biochemical mechanisms in GI functions; GI mucosal injury and protection; molecular mechanisms of premalignant and malignant diseases in GI tract; and the use of isolated cells and cell cultures in biochemical-pharmacological studies to approach GI diseases.

Serotonin and Gastrointestinal Function provides a comprehensive review of current research into the mechanisms by which serotonin acts on gastrointestinal tissues. This book covers neurochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and clinical issues relevant to serotonin in the gastrointestinal tract. The editors have brought together the most relevant information from the molecular to the clinical level. Each chapter is written by investigators experienced in research on serotonin's actions in the gut. This book will be useful to basic scientists, clinical investigators, graduate and postgraduate students.

3 The help of Mr Phil Johnstone and editorial staff at Kluwer Academic Publishers in producing this book and the publication in the Journal is most gratefully acknowl- edged. INFLAMMOPHARMACOLOGY Basic and clinical studies on Inflammation and its phannacologlcal control Aim. and Scope The joumal Innammopharmacology publishes papers on all aspects of inflammation and its phannacological control, emphasizing comparisons of (a) dillerent inflammatory states, and (b) the actions, therapeutic eflicacy and safety of dr\lgs employed in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. The comparative aspects of the types of inflammatory conditions include gastrointestinal disease (e. g. ulcerative colitis, Cmhn's dsease) i , parasitic diseases, toxicological manifestations of the effects of dr\lgs and envimnmental agents, and arthritic conditions. Inflammophannacology covers all the major aspects of the experimentally-induced clinical pathology, Its bkx:hemistry and cell biology, as well as the clinical and experimental phannacology and toxk:ology of therapeutic agents. The emphasis on comparative aspects of the actions of drugs Is intended to highlight their eflicacy and toxicity pmfiles as well as the variability In their clinical response and safety.

The application of molecular techniques to gastroenterology continues to yield important advances in the development of drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Important new drugs have emerged through the collaborative and complementary efforts of basic scientists, clinicians, and clinical researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The challenge has been exciting, with a few surprises along the way. Consider peptic ulcer disease as an example. The discovery of H receptors and the availability of potent and 2 selective H-receptor antagonists signaled the beginning of a new era 2 in the treatment of gastric hypersecretory states and peptic ulcers. Introduction of proton pump inhibitors offered another therapeutic option. Though H-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors 2 are important and useful drugs, the discovery of the link between H. pylori infection and peptic ulcer disease has led to even more effective pharmacotherapeutic regimens. Our intent in Drug Development: Molecular Targets for GI Diseases is to bring together hands-on experts to review promising areas of gastrointestinal pharmacology. The contemporary topics covered, from a mechanistic viewpoint, are relevant to gastrointestinal inflammation and motility disorders. Authoritative opinions are offered on both future research directions and potential applications for new therapies.

  About 30% of all prescriptions issued in the USA, Canada and Europe contain either a herb, a purified extract or an active component derived from herbs. However, medical practitioners are often confused by conflicting information available on the safety and efficacy of herbs; herbal medicines are often co-prescribed without proper attention to adjustment of dosages. This reference guide treats the subject of herbal medicines in an integrated fashion with reference to pharmacognosy, pharmacology and toxicology. It will help to enable internists, phytotherapists, physicians, healthcare practitioners as well as students to understand why, when and how herbal medicines can be used in the treatment of diseases. Clinical and toxicological findings of herbs and their dosages are described. A great deal of pathology and therapeutic information is included. A large iconographic section can be of help when the identification of a herbal drug is in doubt. Many 2c tables as well as figures are included to clarify complex mechanisms and other information. The most important medicinal plants and drugs are illustrated with exceptional 4c plates.

Constipation is a common disorder that is often defined differently by patients and physicians. Clinically, constipation occurs when bowel move ments are difficult or painful. The "normality" of bowel movements, in terms of frequency, varies among individuals; frequency that is thought by one person to be constipation may be reported by another to be usual and thus normal. Often the perceived "need" to have a bowel movement leads to self-treatment with laxatives as these drugs are widely available without a prescription. This situation can raise problems in patient care, because of potential interactions between laxatives and other medications. Furthermore, chronic use (abuse) oflaxatives can cause serious medical consequences, causing patients to visit physicians, and even to be hospitalized for further evaluation and care. This has a financial impact on the patient, and on health care systems. It is essential that pharmacists, physicians and other health care practitioners counsel patients on the causes of constipation and the proper use oflaxatives. A medical work-up by a physician should be done to determine if the constipation is due to a pathological process. Often nor mal bowel function (for an invididual) can be maintained by diet and/or lifestyle. Most laxatives in use today are of botanical origin. Further research on the mechanism of action of these and synthetic laxatives is needed to bet ter define their pharmacology and toxicology."