The 11th international Conference on ADVANCES IN PROSTAGLANDIN AND LEUKOTRIENE RESEARCH: BASICSCIENCEANDNEWCLlNICALApPLlCA TIONS was held, as in the past, in Florence, Italy, on June 4-8, 2000. A selection of lectures presented at the meeting is included in this volume, which continues the tradition of covering both basic and clinical aspects of prostaglandin and leukotriene research. At this meeting particular emphasis was given to the lipid mediator circuits of lipoxin and leukotrienes and to the expression ofthe COX2 gene. The plenary lectures by C.N. Serhan (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)...

The 4th International Symposium on Women's Health and Menopause, organized by the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Foundation (Milan, Italy and Houston, Texas) focused on the new strategies to improve the quality of life of post-menopausal women. This volume illustrates the findings of this conference and includes information on the age-related degenerative processes occurring after menopause including cardiovascular disease, cancer, fractures and dementia.

Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptors (PPARs) attract great attention in light of the wide spectrum of genes of biological and medical relevance identified as under their control. As a consequence, our knowledge of the role of these receptors in physiology and pathology continues to grow at a fast pace and PPARs have become an interesting target for the treatment of many pathological conditions, including diabetes and atherosclerosis. This volume provides an authoritative view of the current clinical and scientific developments within this evolving area of study.

Despite its universality in human female ageing, the menopause and its biology are not completely understood. New biologic mechanisms by which sex hormones may be detrimental or confer protection are continually being discovered.

The complex relationships between alcohol use and human health represent an area of increasing interest to specialists interested in preventive cardiology. The inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, especially myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, has in fact gained sound scientific support in the last few years of the 20th century. This book, based in an international symposium on the topic held in Venice, October 30-31, 1999, analyzes in depth the epidemiological association between alcohol consumption and human diseases and...