In the past several years much progress has been made in understanding the basic mechanisms of pancreatic physiology and the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic disease. A symposium took place in Munich on 18-19 September 1998 that aimed at summarizing current knowledge of the exocrine pancreas and giving di rection to future research. It targeted all practitioners and scientists working in the field of exocrine pancreatic disease. The symposium was also designed to stimulate young persons embarking on a career in this area. It was an exciting meeting for all of us. We wish to extend our thanks to all participants for their prompt submission of manuscripts and to Springer Verlag for speedy publication, providing us with an up-to-date volume on pancreatic research. We would also like to thank G. Beyendorff-Hajda and W. Glockner, as well as D. Kriiger, representatives of Knoll Deutschland GmbH, for their organiza tional assistance and Knoll itself for its generous sponsorship, which enabled colleagues from other countries to participate and made publication of the symposium possible.

I Acute Pancreatitis

1 Acute Pancreatitis: Mechanisms of Cell Injury - Genetics
2 Events Inside the Pancreatic Acinar Cell in Acute Pancreatitis: Role of Secretory Blockade, Calcium Release and Dehydration for the Initiation of Trypsinogen Activation and Autodigestion
3 Immunologic Mechanisms in Acute Pancreatitis
4 Mechanisms in Cellular Injury
5 Acute Pancreatitis: Bacterial Translocation and Pancreatic Infections
6 Staging and Early Nasolateral Feeding in Acute Pancreatitis
7 Acute Pancreatitis: Medical and Endoscopic Treatment
8 Surgical Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis
II Chronic Pancreatitis
9 Chronic Pancreatitis: Do Different Etiologies (Alcohol, Obstruction) Invoke Different Mechanisms
10 Exocrine Pancreatic Secretion, Pain, and Malabsorption
11 Intestinal Transit of Chyme and its Regulatory Role: Clinical Implications
12 Treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in Chronic Pancreatitis
13 Mechanisms of Fibrosis and Potential Antifibrotic Agents
14 Mechanisms of Pain and its Medical Management, Including Neurolytic Treatments
15 Endoscopic Treatment of Pain and Complications of Chronic Pancreatitis
16 Surgical Treatment of Chronic Pancreatitis
III Cystic Fibrosis
17 Genetics and Molecular Pathology of Cystic Fibrosis
18 Treatment of Gastrointestinal Manifestations in Cystic Fibrosis
19 Is Idiopathic Chronic Pancreatitis Cystic Fibrosis
IV Pancreatic Cancer
20 Growth Factors and Transcription Factors in Pancreatic Cancer
21 Biological Approaches to the Therapy of Pancreatic Cancer
22 Pancreatic Cancer: Preclinical Development of an Experimental Treatment Strategy Using Retinoids and Interferon-alpha
23 Aspects of Radical Surgery for Exocrine Cancer of the Pancreatic Head
V Epidemiology
24 LessonsLearned about Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer from Epidemiological Studies.