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Summary of symposium
Toxlrnn, 1970, VoL 8, pp. 111-112. PreQamon Press . Printed in Great Britain.
SUMMARY OF SYMPOSIUM Tt~ sn~osnnK attended by 180 scientists from 25 countries, including 70 from Israel, opened at the Sheraton Hotel, Tel-Aviv, on Sunday evening, February 22, under the gloom of the death of three of our distinguished colleagues, Prof. O. G. Cesaire from Dakar, Senegal, Dr. L. A. Brisbois, Belgium, and Dr. P. Lauhatirananda from Bangkok, Thailand, who were travelling to Israel in the exploding Swiss Air plane. The memory of the three members was honored by Prof. A. de Vries in his opening address before the standing participants. Letters sent to the bereaved families were signed by the members of the conference . The meeting lasted a full five days, the scientific program running without parallel sessions, except one, from 9 o'clock in the morning to late in the afternoon, with excellent attendance . The opening session was devoted to a panel on the pharmacological, sociopsychological, cultural and legal aspects of marihuana and other psychomimetics with the participation of a chemist, a pharmacologist, a psychiatrist, a judge and a poet. The opinions were guarded, the discussion lively, and it became evident that both on the chemical-pharmacological side and the legal-sociological side, still much remains to be clarified. Nine successive sessions were devoted to the following subjects : Venomous animals, venom glands and venom secretion, chemistry of toxins (2 sessions), pharmacology of toxins (2 sessions), immunology, clinical aspects of envenomation, and plant toxins. A panel was held on production and standardization of antivenins. A business meeting dealt with problems of membership nomination, the financial status of the society, the future of the journal Toxicon, and the location of the next symposium to be held in 1974. The decisions taken will be announced to the members by the secretary of the society, Prof. E. Kaiser (Vienna) . Generally, the presentations were of excellent quality, often provoked ardent discussions, and it was felt by the participants that great progress had been made in the knowledge of animal and plant toxinology since the first symposium held in Atlantic City in 1966 . No doubt, the greatest advance has been in the venom and toxin chemistry, an array of animal and plant toxins having been isolated and chemically characterized during the past four years. Indeed, venom fractionation has become so `delica.te' that the question may be raised, as it was, whether some of the results, such as for instance the detection of numerous iso-enzymes in the venoms, may not be artifacts. On the other hand, the purification of the separate toxins opened the way for reliable pharmacological investigation and, indeed, interesting light was shed on the mode of action of some of the isolated toxins . From the immunologic and therapeutic points of view, the problem of vaccination against snake bite and that of antibody fragmentation appear most exciting. The impression was gained that the field of toxin purification, although much remains to be done, now has become classical, and that new vistas for the coming years shall be mainly in the fields of `mode of action' and immunology . 111
112
Summary of Symposium
Finally, although the tragic events preceding the symposium tuned down the joy of meeting old and new toxinologist-friends, the social events exhibited good spirit and the `meet the Israeli at home' gatherings were stimulating . A most honorable occasion was the presentation of the Redi award to Professor Paul Boquet of Pasteur Institute for his outstanding scientific contribution and service in the area of toxinology. A well-attended tour to Jerusalem brought the symposium to a successful end. Professor A. DE Vxu;s
President of the Society
SUMMARY OF SYMPOSIUM Tt~ sn~osnnK attended by 180 scientists from 25 countries, including 70 from Israel, opened at the Sheraton Hotel, Tel-Aviv, on Sunday evening, February 22, under the gloom of the death of three of our distinguished colleagues, Prof. O. G. Cesaire from Dakar, Senegal, Dr. L. A. Brisbois, Belgium, and Dr. P. Lauhatirananda from Bangkok, Thailand, who were travelling to Israel in the exploding Swiss Air plane. The memory of the three members was honored by Prof. A. de Vries in his opening address before the standing participants. Letters sent to the bereaved families were signed by the members of the conference . The meeting lasted a full five days, the scientific program running without parallel sessions, except one, from 9 o'clock in the morning to late in the afternoon, with excellent attendance . The opening session was devoted to a panel on the pharmacological, sociopsychological, cultural and legal aspects of marihuana and other psychomimetics with the participation of a chemist, a pharmacologist, a psychiatrist, a judge and a poet. The opinions were guarded, the discussion lively, and it became evident that both on the chemical-pharmacological side and the legal-sociological side, still much remains to be clarified. Nine successive sessions were devoted to the following subjects : Venomous animals, venom glands and venom secretion, chemistry of toxins (2 sessions), pharmacology of toxins (2 sessions), immunology, clinical aspects of envenomation, and plant toxins. A panel was held on production and standardization of antivenins. A business meeting dealt with problems of membership nomination, the financial status of the society, the future of the journal Toxicon, and the location of the next symposium to be held in 1974. The decisions taken will be announced to the members by the secretary of the society, Prof. E. Kaiser (Vienna) . Generally, the presentations were of excellent quality, often provoked ardent discussions, and it was felt by the participants that great progress had been made in the knowledge of animal and plant toxinology since the first symposium held in Atlantic City in 1966 . No doubt, the greatest advance has been in the venom and toxin chemistry, an array of animal and plant toxins having been isolated and chemically characterized during the past four years. Indeed, venom fractionation has become so `delica.te' that the question may be raised, as it was, whether some of the results, such as for instance the detection of numerous iso-enzymes in the venoms, may not be artifacts. On the other hand, the purification of the separate toxins opened the way for reliable pharmacological investigation and, indeed, interesting light was shed on the mode of action of some of the isolated toxins . From the immunologic and therapeutic points of view, the problem of vaccination against snake bite and that of antibody fragmentation appear most exciting. The impression was gained that the field of toxin purification, although much remains to be done, now has become classical, and that new vistas for the coming years shall be mainly in the fields of `mode of action' and immunology . 111
112
Summary of Symposium
Finally, although the tragic events preceding the symposium tuned down the joy of meeting old and new toxinologist-friends, the social events exhibited good spirit and the `meet the Israeli at home' gatherings were stimulating . A most honorable occasion was the presentation of the Redi award to Professor Paul Boquet of Pasteur Institute for his outstanding scientific contribution and service in the area of toxinology. A well-attended tour to Jerusalem brought the symposium to a successful end. Professor A. DE Vxu;s
President of the Society