Progress in Asthma and COPD [antikvár]

Foreword Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are very common diseases causing considerable morbidity and alsó mortality. To the international medical community they offer several major challenges leading clinicians and scientists to keep a keen and continued interest in the progress being made in overcoming these problems. Even summarizing these major challenges would take much more than a two half days symposium. Only somé of them could be briefly covered within such a frame. However, one should welcome all efforts to keep the practising pneumologist abreast of at least part of the considerable progress that was made in recent years in the understanding of the pathogenesis, as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic management of these obstructive lung diseases. The symposium organized in Elounda (Crete) on 21-22 October 1988 to review somé recent progress largely kept its promises. Thirteen distinguished European experts presented the best of their own work or reviewed present knowledge. All of them kindly agreed to provide manuscripts of their presentations, now nicely published in the present volume. Since the discussion of good papers alsó provides valuable information, the editors, considerably and ably helped by Dr Frans Doperé, have done their best to summarize the lively interchange of questions and answers that followed each presentation. They are pleased to submit the present volume to the approval of the participants of the symposium and to all interested readers. A final word of cordial thanks to Mr B. Thalacker, Mr P. Heymans, Mr C. Hens, Dr F. Doperé and their efficient staff at 3M/Riker Belgium for their perfect material organization of the symposium, and alsó to Elsevier Science Publishers for publishing these proceedings in their distinguished International Congress Series. We are confident that the readers will appreciate the efforts of all those involved in this undertaking. P. Vermeire M. Demedts J.-C. Yernault