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Atherosclerosis
B O O K REVIEWS
323
The Chemical Pathology of Rheumatoid Arthritis, H. F. WEST. 1970. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 85 pp. USt7.00. This is a small book in which the results of research into the chemical pathology of rheumatoid arthritis are discussed and presented in a straightforward manner. Chapters are devoted to connective tissue, proteoglycans, enzymes, amino acids, hormones, trace elements and miscellaneous substances such as kinins and serotonin. The chapters on enzymes and trace elements are particularly helpful. The author of a book such as this does a service in bringing to one’s notice work read in journals but easily forgotten. The mention of enzymes found in leucocytes in rheumatoid arthritis is an example and encouragement of further research on these observations is to be commended. The last part of the book is devoted to a summary of the findings and to the necessity of future research on a wide front. The lack of necessary finance and understanding of the fundamental needs for modern chemical research is criticized. The index is adequate, all references are numbered and given in detail, at the end of the book. Most rheumatologists will find something to interest them in Dr West’s book. Eva Shipton
Atherosclerosis. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium, ed. RICHARD J. JONES. 1970. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York. 706 pp., 150 figs. US$18.00, DM65. The Second International Symposium on Atherosclerosis held in Chicago at the end of 1969 was a well-organized, successful conference. Dr Richard J. Jones, his editorial committee, the many authors and the publishers are to be complimented on their marathon effort in putting together the proceedings in one well-presented volume. Having attended the conference I found most of the topics of interest reinforced in the book both by the text and clear figures. Many theories on atherogenesis were expanded and synthesized into a comprehensive whole in such chapters as ‘Injury and repair in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesions’ by Dr Daria Haust. Thrombosis was well covered and the chapter by the late Dr John French of Oxford brings back memories of one of his last appearances in the United States. The Albany group’s study on arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation in the first week after feeding cholesterol to pigs reinforced earlier in vitro studies on tissue culture cells from the laboratories of Wissler and Robertson. The lipid content of arterial walls was studied by many workers including Dr Elspeth Smith who showed a different fatty acid pattern of cholesterol esters in intracellular and extracellular fatty lesions. Dr Allan Day presented data on lipid synthesis of foam cells from rabbit and human arteries. Epidemiological studies included those from Canberra on New Guinea natives. The conference was summed up in a most readable and amusing way by Dr Hugh Sinclair. These comments touch on but a few of the highlights of the conference. The proceedings are divided into logical sections dealing with such subjects as the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the reactions of the arterial wall, thrombosis and atherosclerosis,
324
BOOK REVIEWS
Pathology (1971), 3, October
serum lipoproteins, sterol balance and metabolism, epidemiology of atherosclerosis, nutritional studies, drug effects and the control of atherosclerosis. Such diverse studies on this important and multi-factorial disease are put in some perspective by excellent panel presentations and discussions by world experts in their various fields. For a research worker in atherosclerosis access to this book is a must, for the interested physician or medical scientist the volume makes fascinating reading and gives insight into present and possible future research on this most important disease. Robin Fraser
The Current Status of Liquid Scintillation Counting, ed. EDWIND. BRANSOME, JR. 1970. Grune & Stratton, Inc., New York and London. 394 pp. US $19.75. This book is the result of an International Symposium on the Current Status of Liquid Scintillation Counting held at M.I.T. from 31 March to 3 April 1969. It is a most valuable reference source of informaticn concerning methods of measuring radioisotopes by liquid scintillation counting. It will answer the needs of the person first wishing to use a liquid scintillation counter by providing both fundamental theory and details of practical aspects of specimen preparation and counting. It will draw the attention of experienced users to aspects of technique and novel uses of liquid scintillation counting. Coverage of practical applications is very wide but there is a variation in approach by the individual authors of each chapter. Some give a comprehensive review with slight emphasis on their own special interests within the frame of reference of the chapter heading. Others draw heavily on their own experience giving only brief cover to other methods. The technology of liquid scintillation counting is still developing rapidly and the chapters on technique may become outdated fairly soon and even as recent a review as this may not make reference to the best method of handling a particular counting problem. This book should be read by those persons regularly assaying specimens by liquid scintillation counting and by research workers employing beta emitting isotopes. It provides valuable insight into a very wide variety of counting methods and techniques of sample preparation.
J. McRae Fatal Civil Akcraft Accidents. Their Medical and Pathological Investigation, PETERJ. STEVENS. 1970. John Wright & Sons Ltd., Bristol. 206 pp. 45.00 stg. In this book Wing Commander Stevens recounts his experiences in the pathological investigation of British civil aircraft accidents. Evidence of disease in the pilots which might provide a cause for accidents is a prime object of aviation pathology, but pathological evidence of nonmedical causes and of events taking place in the aircraft before and after impact are equally
323
The Chemical Pathology of Rheumatoid Arthritis, H. F. WEST. 1970. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 85 pp. USt7.00. This is a small book in which the results of research into the chemical pathology of rheumatoid arthritis are discussed and presented in a straightforward manner. Chapters are devoted to connective tissue, proteoglycans, enzymes, amino acids, hormones, trace elements and miscellaneous substances such as kinins and serotonin. The chapters on enzymes and trace elements are particularly helpful. The author of a book such as this does a service in bringing to one’s notice work read in journals but easily forgotten. The mention of enzymes found in leucocytes in rheumatoid arthritis is an example and encouragement of further research on these observations is to be commended. The last part of the book is devoted to a summary of the findings and to the necessity of future research on a wide front. The lack of necessary finance and understanding of the fundamental needs for modern chemical research is criticized. The index is adequate, all references are numbered and given in detail, at the end of the book. Most rheumatologists will find something to interest them in Dr West’s book. Eva Shipton
Atherosclerosis. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium, ed. RICHARD J. JONES. 1970. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York. 706 pp., 150 figs. US$18.00, DM65. The Second International Symposium on Atherosclerosis held in Chicago at the end of 1969 was a well-organized, successful conference. Dr Richard J. Jones, his editorial committee, the many authors and the publishers are to be complimented on their marathon effort in putting together the proceedings in one well-presented volume. Having attended the conference I found most of the topics of interest reinforced in the book both by the text and clear figures. Many theories on atherogenesis were expanded and synthesized into a comprehensive whole in such chapters as ‘Injury and repair in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesions’ by Dr Daria Haust. Thrombosis was well covered and the chapter by the late Dr John French of Oxford brings back memories of one of his last appearances in the United States. The Albany group’s study on arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation in the first week after feeding cholesterol to pigs reinforced earlier in vitro studies on tissue culture cells from the laboratories of Wissler and Robertson. The lipid content of arterial walls was studied by many workers including Dr Elspeth Smith who showed a different fatty acid pattern of cholesterol esters in intracellular and extracellular fatty lesions. Dr Allan Day presented data on lipid synthesis of foam cells from rabbit and human arteries. Epidemiological studies included those from Canberra on New Guinea natives. The conference was summed up in a most readable and amusing way by Dr Hugh Sinclair. These comments touch on but a few of the highlights of the conference. The proceedings are divided into logical sections dealing with such subjects as the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the reactions of the arterial wall, thrombosis and atherosclerosis,
324
BOOK REVIEWS
Pathology (1971), 3, October
serum lipoproteins, sterol balance and metabolism, epidemiology of atherosclerosis, nutritional studies, drug effects and the control of atherosclerosis. Such diverse studies on this important and multi-factorial disease are put in some perspective by excellent panel presentations and discussions by world experts in their various fields. For a research worker in atherosclerosis access to this book is a must, for the interested physician or medical scientist the volume makes fascinating reading and gives insight into present and possible future research on this most important disease. Robin Fraser
The Current Status of Liquid Scintillation Counting, ed. EDWIND. BRANSOME, JR. 1970. Grune & Stratton, Inc., New York and London. 394 pp. US $19.75. This book is the result of an International Symposium on the Current Status of Liquid Scintillation Counting held at M.I.T. from 31 March to 3 April 1969. It is a most valuable reference source of informaticn concerning methods of measuring radioisotopes by liquid scintillation counting. It will answer the needs of the person first wishing to use a liquid scintillation counter by providing both fundamental theory and details of practical aspects of specimen preparation and counting. It will draw the attention of experienced users to aspects of technique and novel uses of liquid scintillation counting. Coverage of practical applications is very wide but there is a variation in approach by the individual authors of each chapter. Some give a comprehensive review with slight emphasis on their own special interests within the frame of reference of the chapter heading. Others draw heavily on their own experience giving only brief cover to other methods. The technology of liquid scintillation counting is still developing rapidly and the chapters on technique may become outdated fairly soon and even as recent a review as this may not make reference to the best method of handling a particular counting problem. This book should be read by those persons regularly assaying specimens by liquid scintillation counting and by research workers employing beta emitting isotopes. It provides valuable insight into a very wide variety of counting methods and techniques of sample preparation.
J. McRae Fatal Civil Akcraft Accidents. Their Medical and Pathological Investigation, PETERJ. STEVENS. 1970. John Wright & Sons Ltd., Bristol. 206 pp. 45.00 stg. In this book Wing Commander Stevens recounts his experiences in the pathological investigation of British civil aircraft accidents. Evidence of disease in the pilots which might provide a cause for accidents is a prime object of aviation pathology, but pathological evidence of nonmedical causes and of events taking place in the aircraft before and after impact are equally