Gastric secretions contain hydrogen ions at a concentration that is more than one million times higher than their intracellular concentration. This phenomenal gradient as well as the demonstrated ability of gastric juice to digest tissues has motivated clinicians and investigators alike to emphasize acid secretion and acid ablation in studying the pathogenesis and therapy of peptic ulcer disease. Conse quently, over the past 150 years, we have made considerable progress in under standing the mechanisms and regulation of acid secretion by the stomach. Not surprisingly, therapy for both peptic disease and mucosal injury has also been predominantly directed at either neutralizing acid or suppressing its production. During the past 10 years, attention has been focused on factors other than acid in the genesis and therapy of ulcer disease. Work done worldwide demon strated that acid hypersecretion is not a common event in peptic ulcer disease. Therefore, we began realizing that factors other than acid secretion may be important in the genesis of ulcer disease or in gastroduodenal mucosal damage. In addition, new physiological information has established that the gas troduodenal mucosa is normally protected by a complex series of events includ ing mucus and bicarbonate secretion, cell renewal, surface mucosal restitution, and preservation of the microvasculature and mucosal proliferative zone.

One hundred papers treat advances in research of the effects and uses of prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes in such medical fields as organ transplantation, male erectile dysfunction, amniotic fluid infection and labour, renal function, anti-inflammatory drugs, allergic and aspirin-intolerant asthma, angioplasty and heart ischemia, Alzheimer's disease, vessel wall hyperplasia, and more. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In recent years, there have been significant advances both in understanding the mechanisms involved in gastrointestinal mucosal injury and protection, as well as in the development of successful strategies for prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal injury. Nevertheless, many people worldwide still suffer from gastrointestinal damage.This book contains contributions by an international panel of researchers in the form of up-to-date reviews on the mechanisms of gastrointestinal injury and protection. These are complemented by papers discussing how these new findings about cell/tissue injury and cytoprotection/organoprotection can be applied to the prevention and treatment of tissue damage in the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, the publication includes a special chapter on Andre Robert, who has discovered the phenomenon of gastric cytoprotection.This publication will be of great interest for both basic and clinical researchers in gastroenterology and pharmacology, reviewing the advances made so far and pointing towards future developments.

Proceedings of a meeting held in Esterel, Quebec, Canada, September 13-15, 1989.

Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in gastrointestinal mucosal injury and repair. These findings provide the basis to identify the etiology and pathogenesis of various gut mucosal injury-related diseases and to develop new therapeutic approaches. The publication at hand is divided into three sections: Epithelial restitution, mucosal repair and ulcer healing, and experimental therapeutics. The first part highlights the early rapid mucosal restitution, focussing on the roles of extracellular matrix, cytoskeleton, cytokines, Ca2+ signaling, polyamines, and the protein kinase C/DAG pathways. The next section deals with aspects of chronic mucosal healing, concentrating on the roles of primary response gene expression, angiogenesis and angiogenic growth factors, platelets, and the mechanisms of cell renewal after injury in special circumstances. The last part explores new therapeutic approaches, stressing potential clinical applications of nitric oxide-releasing agents, polysaccharides, nitric oxide synthase modulators, growth factors, prostaglandins, and cyclooxygenase inhibitors. Covering the current state-of-the-art findings relevant to gut mucosal injury and repair as well as providing the underlying conceptual basis and knowledge regarding experimental therapeutics for gastrointestinal mucosal injury-related diseases, this publication will be a timely guide for investigators working in the field.

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: from Basic Science to Clinical Perspectives, on 10-12 October, 1995, in Pécs, Hungary. The main topics were: Gastrointestinal secretory and excretory fuctions Gastrointestinal motility 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 Use of isolated cells and cell cultures in bioochemical-pharmacological studies to approach GI diseases. The presented papers are published in this book.