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Progress in the functional psychoses
Journal of PsychosomaticResearch,Vol. 24, pp. 117 118. PergamonPressLtd. 1980.Printedin Great Britain.
BOOK REVIEWS
Genetic Aspects of Affective Illness. Edited by JULIEN MENDLEWICZ and BARON SHOPSIN. SP Medical and Scientific Books, New York, 1979. pp. 104. Price: £8.75. MEDICAL genetics has become increasingly important over the last decade or two. For psychiatry its scientific methods and techniques have provided a valuable biological approach to the problems o f nosology, etiology, differential treatment responses, genetic counselling and the identification of highrisk cases. There can be little doubt that there is a strong genetic contribution to affective disorders. This is particularly well demonstrated in bipolar manic-depressive illness. The question is no longer whether there is a heritable basis, but rather which model of transmission fits best the available data. Genetic Aspects of Affective Illness presents an objective overview of the present state of knowledge within this field. Ths clarity of presentation and conciseness will appeal to the general psychiatrist as well as those with a special interest in biological psychiatry. HANNES PETURSSON
Progress in the Functional Psychoses. Edited by ROBERT CANCRO, LESTER E. SHAPIRO and MARTIN S. KESSELMAN. SP Medical and Scientific Books, L o n d o n . 187 pp. Price £14.00. THIS VOLUMEprovides an overview of a variety o f topics in schizophrenia and the affective disorders. This is very m u c h an American book and reflects to some extent the rapidly-changing preoccupations of our trans-Atlantic colleagues. An obsession with diagnostic validity and an increasing scepticism o f available treatment methods which were until recently more a European vice are clearly increasingly infecting American psychiatry. There is even discernible a clear shift from the psychodynamic to the biological. This book would be useful reading for any trainee in psychiatry, though most of it ought to be relatively familiar to most practising psychiatrists. The price of £14 for 187 pages will sadly, however, probably confine it to libraries. PAUL MULLEN
Psychosomatics in Peri-Menopause. Edited by A. A. HASPELS and H. MUSAPH. M T P Press Ltd. pp. 124. THE CONTENT o f this little book is of variable quality but contains enough of interest to make it worth reading for the person interested in the menopause. There is a useful chapter by ESTHER JONES on the biological changes underlying the end of fertility in n o n - h u m a n m a m m a l s as compared with h u m a n s . MARSHA FLINT provides a readable and interesting chapter on transcultural differences in attitudes to the menopause. A. A. HASPELS and P. A. VAN KEEP provide a concise and clear chapter on the clinical aspects o f the menopause and its m a n a g e m e n t , although at times it lapses into clinical dogma, not always justified by the available evidence. The last chapter by LIESBETH SEVERNE is a brief account of an interesting study of the relationships between sociological factors and symptomatology around the menopause. This has been carried out under the auspices o f the International Health Foundation in Belgium. This study certainly warrants more detailed reporting. JOHN BANCROFT
117
BOOK REVIEWS
Genetic Aspects of Affective Illness. Edited by JULIEN MENDLEWICZ and BARON SHOPSIN. SP Medical and Scientific Books, New York, 1979. pp. 104. Price: £8.75. MEDICAL genetics has become increasingly important over the last decade or two. For psychiatry its scientific methods and techniques have provided a valuable biological approach to the problems o f nosology, etiology, differential treatment responses, genetic counselling and the identification of highrisk cases. There can be little doubt that there is a strong genetic contribution to affective disorders. This is particularly well demonstrated in bipolar manic-depressive illness. The question is no longer whether there is a heritable basis, but rather which model of transmission fits best the available data. Genetic Aspects of Affective Illness presents an objective overview of the present state of knowledge within this field. Ths clarity of presentation and conciseness will appeal to the general psychiatrist as well as those with a special interest in biological psychiatry. HANNES PETURSSON
Progress in the Functional Psychoses. Edited by ROBERT CANCRO, LESTER E. SHAPIRO and MARTIN S. KESSELMAN. SP Medical and Scientific Books, L o n d o n . 187 pp. Price £14.00. THIS VOLUMEprovides an overview of a variety o f topics in schizophrenia and the affective disorders. This is very m u c h an American book and reflects to some extent the rapidly-changing preoccupations of our trans-Atlantic colleagues. An obsession with diagnostic validity and an increasing scepticism o f available treatment methods which were until recently more a European vice are clearly increasingly infecting American psychiatry. There is even discernible a clear shift from the psychodynamic to the biological. This book would be useful reading for any trainee in psychiatry, though most of it ought to be relatively familiar to most practising psychiatrists. The price of £14 for 187 pages will sadly, however, probably confine it to libraries. PAUL MULLEN
Psychosomatics in Peri-Menopause. Edited by A. A. HASPELS and H. MUSAPH. M T P Press Ltd. pp. 124. THE CONTENT o f this little book is of variable quality but contains enough of interest to make it worth reading for the person interested in the menopause. There is a useful chapter by ESTHER JONES on the biological changes underlying the end of fertility in n o n - h u m a n m a m m a l s as compared with h u m a n s . MARSHA FLINT provides a readable and interesting chapter on transcultural differences in attitudes to the menopause. A. A. HASPELS and P. A. VAN KEEP provide a concise and clear chapter on the clinical aspects o f the menopause and its m a n a g e m e n t , although at times it lapses into clinical dogma, not always justified by the available evidence. The last chapter by LIESBETH SEVERNE is a brief account of an interesting study of the relationships between sociological factors and symptomatology around the menopause. This has been carried out under the auspices o f the International Health Foundation in Belgium. This study certainly warrants more detailed reporting. JOHN BANCROFT
117