This book is the proceedings of Falk Symposium 129, the XVII International Bile Acid Meeting held in Freiburg, Germany, May 30-June 1, 2002, which was again dedicated to both basic and clinical aspects of bile acid research with a focus on the role of bile acids in hepatobiliary and intestinal diseases. The latest findings are presented by the leading scientists and clinicians in the field.

Beginning in 1970, the International Bile Acid Meeting has taken place every two years and each time new progress in our understanding of the complex role of bile acids in many metabolic processes of the liver and the intestine has been revealed by a selected group of leading scientists from all over the world.
Although originally mainly physiological data on bile acid synthesis and transport were emphasized, and later on also the therapeutic benefit of bile acids in gallstone disease and cholestasis was discovered, we have come now to the molecular biology and genetic era with major...

The pathogenesis of cell death and necrosis in the liver is a central topic of research in liver disease. A molecular understanding of events and sequences leading to cellular death provides the basis for preventive and therapeutic efforts. This volume originates from a "Workshop on Experimental Liver Injury" held on November 9 and 10, 1974, in Freiburg, Germany. Recent progress in the elucidation of the mode of action includes agents inducing liver cell necrosis by a primary dis- turbance of nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism as well as hepa- totoxins characterized by a primary attack on...