Histamine is an intriguing compound; the same is true for the several
classes of anti-histaminergic compounds. The classical anti-histamines,
now known as H -antagonists have 1 been the result of intensive research
in the 1950s and 1960s. The new, so-called non-sedating H1-antagonists,
which became available in the 1980s, could be d'eveloped mainly due to
insights into structural features causing the sedating effects of the
older compounds. In the 1970s the H2-receptors became important targets
for developing new anti-ulcer agents. The H2-antagonist story is a
stimulating example of modern research on pharmacology and medicinal
chemistry. Unknown and new properties of histamine and histaminergic
systems came to the attention of the pharmacologists and medicinal
chemists in the 1980s. The role of histamine as a neurotransmitter, the
existence of a presynaptic receptor (H ) controlling the release of
histamine 3 and other neurotransmitters, and the particular character of
this receptor became important as the possibilities to design new
therapeutic agents were realized. Recently, other roles of the
histaminergic systems have been suggested. Is there a distinct histamine
receptor involved in immunological features of histamine? Is histamine
involved in the prolactin axis? Are histamine receptors intracellularly
present in certain cells and what is their possible role? For these
reasons it was the right time to discuss "New Perspectives in Histamine
Research" during a scientific meeting. Therefore a symposium was
organized as a satellite of the XIth International Congress of
Pharmacology of IUPHAR in Amsterdam in 1990.
