Chlamydia pneumoniae is a bacteria that is most commonly known for causing colds and pneumonia. However, researchers have recently found a link between C. pneumoniae and atherosclerosis, a clogging of the arteries that causes heart attack and stroke. In addition, ongoing research is showing that certain strains may play a role in asthma, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and arthritis.

This volume, part of the Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis series, is a complete portrait of C. pneumoniae and what is currently...

Biomedical scientists widely acknowledge that individuals' immune respon- siveness is important in resistance to infections by microorganisms, including fungi. Because of the devastating acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, caused by the human immunodeficiency retrovirus, it is now accepted that suppressed immune responses, especially cellular immu- nity, are important contributors to increased individual susceptibility to opportunistic infections-including infections caused by fungi which were at one time thought to be very lowly or nonpathogenic. Within the last few years,...

Introduction and Perspectives This volume is based on the proceedings of the 7th annual symposium on the topic Neuroimmune Circuits, Infectious Diseases and Drugs of Abuse, Bethesda, Maryland, Oc- ber 7-9, 1999. This symposium, as in the past, focused on newer knowledge concerning the relationship between the immune and nervous systems with regards to the effects of drugs of abuse and infections, including AIDS, caused by the immunodeficiency virus. Presentations discussed the brain-immune axis from the viewpoint of drugs of abuse rather than from the subject of the brain or immunity alone....

This volume is based on the Proceedings of the International Conference on "Microbial Infections: Role of Biological Response Modifiers" held in Tampa, FL, May 29-31, 1991. The major purpose of this conference was to bring together in one forum prominent investigators from around the world studying a variety of microbial pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and the effects of biological response modifiers (BRM) on the immune response to these microorganisms. BRM have been widely utilized in the area of antitumor resistance and include not only experimental tumor cell vaccines,...

This book contains 32 chapters based on the corresponding papers delivered at the International Symposium on Antimicrobial Agents and Immunity, held in Siena, Italy on May 2-4, 1985 as a Satellite Symposium of the Third International Conference on Immunopharmacology, held in Florence, Italy on May 6-10, 1985. As editors we express our profound appreciation and gratitude to the authors who have contributed so richly to this volume, and we think that it may not be too much to hope that a new cadre of investigators and students will share this gratitude for these records of experience and...