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Foreword
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Advances in the management of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) have evolved dramatically over the past decade and, in many respects, represent a rapidly moving target for the cardiologist or internist who seeks to integrate these recent developments into contemporary clinical practice. Much attention has been directed towards optimizing the diagnosis and management of such patients, particularly in light of the continued evolution of catheter-based interventions and newer pharmacological strategies that afford more complete platelet and thrombin inhibition. Most of the progress in this field stems from the active interaction between basic science and clinical observations generating new hypotheses and research. This supplement, containing the proceedings of a meeting held in Cortona, Italy, in April 2005, stems from the same philosophy: a more efficacious treatment for acute ischaemic syndromes should be targeted at the pathogenetic mechanisms of disease. From this perspective, a group of experts in specific fields came