1 Biology, Immunology and Pathology of Chlamydia Pneumoniae Infections.- 1.1 Pathogenic mechanisms of chronic Chlamydiainfections.- 1.2 Biology, immunology and persistence of Chlamydia pneumoniae: Links to chronic disease.- 1.3 Animal models for Chlamydia pneumoniae infection.- 1.4 Molecular biology and serodiagnostics of Chlamydia pneumoniae — potential way to a vaccine.- 2 Diagnosis of Chlamydia pneumoniae Infections.- 2.1 Direct detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerotic plaques.- 2.2 Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in white blood cells.- 2.3 Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in clinical specimens by PCR-EIA.- 2.4 State of the art in the diagnosis of acute and chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection.- 3 Chronic Diseases Possibly Associated with Chlamydia pneumoniae Infections.- 3.1 Epidemiological data on respiratory tract infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and clinical complications.- 3.2 Role of C. pneumoniae in severe asthma and COPD: Epidemiology and treatment.- 3.3.1 Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerosis.- 3.3.2 Prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae in human coronary plaques with acute coronary syndrome.- 3.3.3 Chlamydial lipopolysaccharide and atherosclerosis.- 3.3.4 Clinical trial designs to study antibiotic intervention in atherosclerosis.- 3.3.5 Why antibiotics against Chlamydia pneumoniae for treatment of atherosclerotic disease could fail.- 3.3.6 Atherosclerosis: Why the search for a causative infectious agent is not warranted.- 3.4 Chlamydia infections and arthritis.- 3.5 Chlamydia pneumoniae, APOE genotype, and Alzheimer’s disease.- 3.6 Association of Chlamydia pneumoniae with Multiple Sclerosis: Protocol for detection of C. pneumoniae in the CSF and summary of preliminary results.- 4 Epidemiology and Public Health Impacts of Chlamydia pneumoniae Infections.- 4.1 Trends and variations of chronic diseases in populations — Can infectious agents help to solve the puzzles?.- 4.2 The epidemiology of Chlamydia pneumoniae versus the epidemiology of potential Chlamydial diseases (Atherosclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, M. Alzheimer).- 4.3 The high male mortality of coronary heart diseases can be explained as a result of chronic infection.- 4.4 The Spandauer Gesundheitstest — Retrospective cohort study on Chlamydia pneumoniae infections and cardiovascular disease — A study concept.- 4.5 Public health impact of atherosclerosis and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections — What do we know and what to expect from future research.- 5 Final Discussion: Pro and Contra the Role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Chronic Diseases.- 5 Final Discussion: Pro and Contra the Role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Chronic Diseases.