In November 1998 many of the key leaders of new drug discovery for inflammatory diseases gathered at Hershey, Pennsylvania for the 9th International Conference of the Inflammation Research Association. The Conference was held over a five day period and provided a stimulating environment for the open exchange of important advances in basic inflammation research as well as new drug discovery and development. This book encompasses some of the highlights of several presentations made at the Conference. It contains some of the latest and important developments in the field of inflammation research. Topics include the status of eotaxin and chemokines in asthma and allergy, signal transduction and regulation of diverse mediators such as the JNK group of MAP kinases, TNF and IL-1 signaling of NF-kB as well as regulators of AP-1, macrophage metalloproteinases, lymphotoxin and further insights into the role of MCP-1 in disease. Also discussed are drug targets in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, fibrotic diseases,...