EFFECTS OF NICOTINE ON THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-AXIS (HPA) AND IMMUNE FUNCTION - INTRODUCTION TO THE 6TH NICOTINE ROUND-TABLE SATELLITE, AMERICAN-SOCIETY-OF-ADDICTION-MEDICINE NICOTINE DEPENDENCE MEETING, NOVEMBER 15, 1997

This meeting was the sixth consecutive Nicotine Round Table Satellite Meeting which was held in Washington, DC, on 15 November, 1996; previo us meetings are presented in Table I. The overall objective of these m eetings was to bring together scientists and clinicians as a means of developing a dialogue concerning the basic mechanisms of nicotine acti on and the effects of nicotine on the whole organism. The specific top ic of this meeting was chosen because of the potent effects of nicotin e on the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis (HPA), and newer concepts indicat ing that the immune system and the HPA are connected via a variety of neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter elements. Whereas the HPA appears to play a unique role in adapting to internal and external stressors, the immune system appears to act as a forward scout which provides inf ormation important to the HPA. This Satellite Meeting evaluated the ef fects of nicotine from three points of view: (1) the effects of nicoti ne on HPA function; (2) the effects of the HPA on the pharmacological effects of nicotine; and (3) the effects of nicotine on immune functio n. This specific presentation will provide an overview of the findings of the meeting and will discuss several of the overriding issues in t his area of nicotine research. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.