The Eighth Annual Research Conference of the American Institute for Cancer Research, held in Washington, D.C., September 3-4, 1998, was on the subject "Colon Cancer Prevention: Dietary Modulation of Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms," with participants representing various disciplines interested in this area. One of the speak- ers provided an appropriate quote from 17th century physician Thomas Adams: "Pre- vention is better than healing because it saves the labor of being sick," which aptly describes the need for the prevention of cancer. An overview of normal and abnormal colonic...

There should be, and in the best of cases there is, a synergy between basic research and patient care. However, this synergy is hard to develop because the techniques required to be a successful researcher are so different from the skills required to be an outstanding physician. Harold R. Roberts, M.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is an example of a physician-researcher who has benefited from having his feet in both the world of patient care and the world of the laboratory: he has let clinical problems direct his basic research effort and conversely has adopted...

I organized this symposium, "Molecular Immunology of Complex Carbohydrates-2 (MICC-2)," at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan th between August 28-September 2, 1999, as a satellite meeting of the 15 International Glycoconjugate Conference (held August 22-27 in Tokyo, Japan). I also held a Taiwan- Canada Glycobiology Workshop after this meeting at the Institutes of Biological Chemistry and Chemistry. To promote glycobiology in Taiwan, I offered a Complexs Carbohydrate & Medicine-2 workshop at the Glyco- Research Laboratory, College of Medicine, Chang- Gung...

Recent advances have contributed to our understanding of how a plant-based diet confers many health advantages and how substances from plants may be effective in the prevention of specific cancers. The Ninth Annual Research Conference of the American Institute for Cancer Research has focused on the latest developments in several categories of nutrients of wide contemporary interests. The conference sessions included such topics as the effects of soy, green tea, selenium, wine, grapes, and spices in cancer prevention. This conference was held in Washington, D.C. on September 2nd and 3rd, 1999,...

Advances in biochemistry, cell biology, genome-wide mutagenesis - coupled with molecular technology, including gene microarray and transgenic and knock-out animals - have been instrumental in understanding the cellular processes and molecular pathways of self-tolerance and autoimmune diseases. The molecular definition of these pathways and processes has led to novel treatments for certain auto-immune diseases that are based on the pathogenesis of diseases rather than on broad-spectrum immunosuppression. This book reviews many of these current developments and proposes future novel approaches...

Sharmila Majumdar In the area of osteoporosis and skeletal changes, it is currently accepted that bone mineral density (BMD), widely used for screening, monitoring and assessing therapeutic efficacy, does not adequately explain the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, the process of aging, or the therapeutic efficacy of various treatments. In this context, trabecular micro architecture has enormous potential to contribute to understanding the pathophysiology of osteopor.osis and therapy assessment. The use and value of noninvasive imaging and quantitative image analysis and processing of trabecular...

About 20% of people with epilepsy have seizures which are resistant to anticonvulsant medications. These drug-resistant seizures are called intractable', and the patients who have them - about 1 in 500 of the general population - present a major challenge to neurologists and epilepsy associations. The present volume describes the symptomatology of the major intractable' syndromes, the most appropriate drugs for each, and the possibilities for surgical control. Research related to the causes and effects of unchecked seizures is presented, and new directions in prevention and therapy are...

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease together account for the largest portion of health care spending compared to all other diseases in Western society. This work seeks to provide an understanding of the causes of diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. As this understanding becomes more widely appreciated, it will serve as a foundation for evidence-based care and wider acceptance of sound science. The International Conference on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, held in Winnipeg, in June 1999, was organized to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers dedicated to...

This volume presents a discussion of the biological effects produced following the metabolism of xenobiotic chemicals to chemically reactive metabolites, that is, toxic and carcinogenic effects, which have been the basis of all five earlier volumes in this series. In particular, this volume devotes sections to structure-activity relationships, advances in the understanding of the chemistry of reactive metabolites, and the generation and activity of reactive oxygen species with special emphasis on nitric oxide. There are also segments on DNA damage by reactive metabolites and DNA repair,...