AMA drug evaluations, 4th edn

s4 diazepine derivatives is due 001 only to their structuraldiversity but also to differences in &ir metabolic pathways and pharmacokittetics (Kaplan; Amerin and Leishman); the ciinical implicati0ns are 0bvious. A fewcbaptersbriefly wview theclinical uses tPries~) and the psychophysiological ctTects @entil Fiiho; Kelly) of ben7a diazepincs. Hem the interested reader will find two most detailed bibliogtaphical lists: about HO tefenmces in each (non. ove~apping! ) Several chapters are dew& solely to 0t?cpartictliar pmbktn. such as the use of benzodiazepinesin treating the neurologL cal diirden epilepsy and spa&city (Browne and Fc!dman; Lison and Speciali), the widespread psychosomatic disturbanceinsomnia fde Paula). aggtcsivc behavior in ~ma~~y-jl~ children fJac0bides)ant.5various stagesof akotmlism (Kaim). Anxiety and depression qrtdr0mes (Costa e Silva) and masked depression IA&), are mnvadays a common daily exprience ettcountetcdby physicians,nor necessarilypsychiat~s~. Methodsfor treating ~xiety~~ss~ symptomseither by ~nzodiazopines alone
SHE& MAMiOlB

inp the text brief and hamtonizing style. The text is always crisp and occasbnally almost~pi~r~mn~atic. AMA DruS Evaluations.4th edn Perhapsthe greatestvirtue ofthia book is its democratic appmach tn drugs. While mostpha~~0~y textstend t0emphasize drugsusedin *life anddeath’ situations(i.e. cardiovascularand autonomic pharmacology), AMA-DE accords tttc ‘little dnt& This book is the single best guide to drug their rightful place. Nasal decongestants get usageavailable to the Notth American prac- as much space as antiangitutlagents;dertitioner. WhiIe it may lack someof the pug- matoiogical preparationsam granted more naciouscandorof the ftrstedition it far sur- space than diuretic and anti~yt~ic passesprevi~ts editions b0th in terms of agentscombined. White at first glance the 0rgan~~t~ and c0mpletencss. clinical p~i~0~~~t mi.@ttquestionthe A Md Drug Evatmdons (AMA-DE) wisdom of such an apportionment. on is divided into IJ sectionsand 87 chapters. ftmher nflection it appearsjustified by the In add%on to~atment of i~ividual drugs. diversity of available pteparationsand the there are special sectionson drug interac- ubiquity of the humble disordersrequiring tiuns, pmscription pmctices, and indi- them. viduahzatkusof therapy in pediatric and A&U-DE witt continueto be the trusty geriatric patienfs. in renal failure and in cornpa-ionof the American practitionerfor pmgnancy. Virtually every commercially the forseoablefuture. In spite of intemaavailable pm~~~~oa drug is includedwith tional differencesin available formulations formulatiort and dosage data. A yellow- and pmprietary names, practitionersoutpage sectionin the middle of the bo0k con- side North America may want a copy of tains an exhaustive index of generic and .4 MA-DE becauseofits critical evaltt;tlion proprietary names together with disease 0f drugsaceonfingto their i~~ations. ~~icati~~ all keyed to the text. Over sat c~t~~~ attd consttttants were called upon in the preparationof this book. In the face of suchdiverse input, the editors havedonean admi~blejob of keep

Trusty companion

~~rn~~ of the Art

Oxidase Inhibitor - The State

This b0ok is a collection of quality papers concerning basic and clinical information on moo~ine oxidaseinhibitors.The contributors comprise some of the most outstandii workersin the tiid sod the anictes ~~lj~~so~t#e~t~r~ from basic biochemical mechanisms, throughthe pharmacolcgyof both new and more establish comp0undsand into the realms of clinical evaluation and usage. The messageof the book is clear. Mono amine oxidase inhibimrsare fighting again for ~cogn~t~n in the clinical atena after being virtually knocked-outhy tyramine in the ear@ 196%. The discovery of two fotrns of monamine oxidase (MAC&A and MAQB). along with new inhibitors, has allowed selectiveinhibitionwith the p0tential for obviating the ‘cheese_reactiott’. hnnicalfy. lmwever. r&ass of centrag

~umtmasrni~e~ by ~~ilti~ (and other s0called microaminesfmay be requiredfor an an~dep~s~nt action of the monoan~ine oxidase inhibitors. This notion is put forward by Sandler who also points out ttrat MAD-A inhibition seems necessary for antidepressanteffects. Since MAO-A is present within rno~arni~r~~ neu~ns, entering tyramine would be spaced to release norepinephrineand serotonin. tin man, dopamine is believed to be deaminated by the &form.) This proposal is thoughtprovokingbut is notcast in cement! Several contributors describe various ph~~lo~a~ properties of the motto amine oxidase inhibitor and a carefully consideredcontributionby Murphy stresses that delayed, adaptive changes appear to correlatebetterwith clinical responsiveness thanimmediateeffects, suchasmonoamine ox&se iai~ibitionitself and rapid increases in the levels of biogenic amittcs. Ctearty. much more resqarchis requiredto sttlc the basic questionas to how n~~rn~~ oxiduse inhibitors produce antidepressantand cardi+ivasculareffects. This book, how. ever. will serveas an invaIoabieaid in this importantendeavor. New information is pm.setttcdby Singer and T&ton with regard to the ~~~s~