Thirteen years have elapsed since the appearance of the first volume and it is with great pleasure that the Editor is now able to present volume 16. During these thirteen years various fields of drug research have undergone important, partly revolutionary, changes. A number of these have already been dealt with, so that the series PROGRESS IN DRUG RESEARCH contains a comprehensive review of a substantial part of our current knowledge. The Editor is particularly grateful for the opportunity of transmitting to those connected with the devel opmentof drugs the extensive knowledge of the Authors, who, without exception, are themselves actively engaged in research. Drug research is currently in a state of transformation: reconsideration in the light of the past and reorientation with a view to the future. To a large extent this is due to the tumultuous developments in the last 20 years, developments which are unparalleled in the history of medicine and the consequences of which cannot yet be completely evaluated. Unfortunately, however, the current situation is not devoid of its unpleasant and even tragic aspects, aspects which fall outside the research worker's sphere or influence. Those connected with drug research, be they in industry, in universities or in clinics, are aware of these problems, and, as a result of this awareness, are all the more in need of an aid which will assist them in ascertaining the current position and in fixing future goals.

Contents: V. Zingel, C. Leschke and W. Schunack: Developments in research on histamine (H1) receptor agonists / P.D. Hoeprich: Antifungal chemotherapy / G. de Stevens: The diversity of heterocyclic compounds and their biological activities / R.M. Schultz: Newer antifolate compounds in cancer therapy / P.K. Mehrotra, S. Batra and A.P. Bhadun: Non-steroidal agents for regulation of the menstrual cycle / A.K. Saxena and M. Saxena: Developments in anti-convulsant drugs

Volume 45 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains eight reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with neuro peptides as native immune modulators, with Calmodulin and with effects of cell stimuli and drugs on cellular activation, with recent advances in benzodiazepine receptor binding studies, with the medicinal chemistry and therapeutic potentials of ligands of the histamine H3 receptor, with Serotonin uptake inhibitors, with computer-aided drug design, with natri uretic hormones and with the recent developments in the chemotherapy of osteoporosis. In the 36 years that PDR has existed, the Editor has enjoyed the valu able help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the reviews and, last but not least, the reviewers have all contributed greatly to the success of this series. Although the comments received so far have generally been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reassess the current position and the future direction of such a series of monographs. So far, it has been the Editor's intention to help disseminate information on the vast domain of drug research, and to provide the reader with a tool with which to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends. The reviews in PDR are useful to the nonspecialist, who can obtain an overview of a particular field of drug research in a relatively short time.

Volume 41 of "Progress in Orug Research" contains eight reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the con nection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with teratogenesis; nephrotoxicity; bacterial resistance to P. lactam antibiotics; eradication of diseases by vaccination; chirality and drug design; endogenous digitalis-like factors; erythropoietin; and sero tonin (5HT)-antagonists. 3 All these articles give an excellent overview of the respective fields of research. In the 33 years that POR has existed, the Editor has enjoyed the valu able help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the reviews, and last but not least, the reviewers have all contributed greatly to the success of this series. Although the comments received so far have generally been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reassess the current position and the future direction of such a review series. So far, it has been the Editors intention to help disseminate informa tion on the vast domain of drug research, and to provide the reader with a tool with which to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends. The reviews in POR are useful to the non-specialists, who can obtain an overview of a particular field of research in a relatively short time. The specialist readers of POR will appreciate the reviews' comprehensive bibliographies, and, in addition, they may even get fresh impulses for their own research.

Volume 42 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains seven reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the con nection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with organization and management of drug research; luteinizing hor mone regulators; natural products as anticancer agents; flavonoids and their pharmacological activity; serenics in the control of mental disturbances; Transfer Factor and its application and with Transfer Factor in malignancy. In the 34 years that "Progress in Drug Research" has existed, the Edi tor has enjoyed the valuable help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the reviews, and last but not least, the review ers have all contributed greatly to the success of this series. Although the comments received so far have generally been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reassess the current position and the future direction of such a review series. So far, it has been the Editors intention to help disseminate informa tion on the vast domain of drug research, and to provide the reader with a tool with which to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends. The reviews in PDR are useful to the non-specialists, who can obtain an overview of a particular field of drug research in a rela tively short time.

Volume 47 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains eight reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with inotropic steroids, with chemokines and their involvement in a wide range of inflam matory diseases, with the subclassification and nomenclature of ul- and Uz-adrenoceptors, with Chinese traditional medicine, with drug targets in the molecular pathogenesis of asthma, with cytokines and their therapeutic application in immunosuppression and immunostimulation, with alter native medicine and with the potential use of calcium blockers in psy chiatry. These reviews and the quotations of original articles provide the reader with valuable information on several new developments in the world-wide search for new and better medicines. In 1959, when the Editor started this series of monographs, it was his intention to help disseminate informa tion on the vast and fast growing domain of drug research. Already at that time,it was not possible to follow the major individual publications in this field, and the reader was thereby provided with a tool to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends. This goal remained unchanged over the last 37 years, and I believe that the reviews in PDR are useful to the non-specialist who can obtain an overview of a particular field of drug research in a relatively short time.