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Immunodeficiencies
JOURNALOF IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS ELSEVIER
Journal of ImmunologicalMethods 172 (1994) 135-137
Book reviews Rosen, F.S. and M. Seligmann (Eds.), Immunodeficiencies, ix+ 761 pp. Harwood Academic Publishers Chur, 1993. GBP 58.-, ISBN 37186-53443-3/5 This book is a compilation of review articles which have appeared in the journal Imrnunodeficiency Reviews since it was first published in 1989. The authors who contributed reviews to the earlier volumes of the journal have apparently updated their contributions for reproduction in this current edition. The journal Immunodeficiency Reviews has, since its inception, provided excellent review articles on topics relating to both acquired and congenital immunodeficiency. The combination of a North American and European editor has ensured that authors from both sides of the Atlantic are equally represented. The book is divided into broad topics including primary specific immunodeficiencies, complement deficiencies, leukocyte defects, HIV disease, secondary immunodeficiencies other than AIDS, animal models and therapy. Each review, where relevant, deals both with clinical presentation and the cellular and molecular basis of the individual disease as well as therapeutic alternatives. All the major immunodeficiencies are devoted at least one chapter each, usually written by an expert involved in active research in the particular area. The section on HIV includes chapters on the natural clinical history of the disease as well as reviews of pathophysiology,
Bystryn, J.-C., S. Ferrone and P. Livingston (Eds.),
Specific Immunotherapy of Cancer with Vaccines, XII +4 1 2 pp., illus. The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 1993 (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. 690). Cloth-bound (price not listed) ISBN 0-89766-825-1 Elsevier ScienceB.V.
treatment and vaccine prospects. Unusual in a book such as this is the inclusion of a section devoted to animal models of immunodeficiency which includes discussion of Scid mice, canine and equine Scid models and primate models for HIV vaccine development. The book is therefore of potential interest to a wide variety of readers although will be most relevant to those involved in the clinical care of, or research into, immunodeficiency syndromes. Inevitably a compilation of papers such as this contains contributions of differing quality as well as some duplication but in general this book provides a useful resource for those without access to Immunodeficiency Re-
views. While the editors state in their preface that this single volume contains the current state of our knowledge about immunodeficiency, they have been a little unfortunate in that the last 18 months has seen great progress within primary immunodeficiency research. The genes responsible for X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (btk, tyrosine kinase), X-linked hyper-IgM (CD40 ligand) and X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (IL-2 receptor 3' chain) have all been identified within months of each other. These recent findings however do not detract from the usefulness of this book as a resource for those interested in both clinical aspects and the biology of congenital and acquired immunodeficiencies. D. GOLDBLATT This book contains papers presented at a conference sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, held in January 1993 at Washington, DC with the aim of disseminating among scientists of various disciplines information on the ways to improve the effectiveness of vaccines for
Journal of ImmunologicalMethods 172 (1994) 135-137
Book reviews Rosen, F.S. and M. Seligmann (Eds.), Immunodeficiencies, ix+ 761 pp. Harwood Academic Publishers Chur, 1993. GBP 58.-, ISBN 37186-53443-3/5 This book is a compilation of review articles which have appeared in the journal Imrnunodeficiency Reviews since it was first published in 1989. The authors who contributed reviews to the earlier volumes of the journal have apparently updated their contributions for reproduction in this current edition. The journal Immunodeficiency Reviews has, since its inception, provided excellent review articles on topics relating to both acquired and congenital immunodeficiency. The combination of a North American and European editor has ensured that authors from both sides of the Atlantic are equally represented. The book is divided into broad topics including primary specific immunodeficiencies, complement deficiencies, leukocyte defects, HIV disease, secondary immunodeficiencies other than AIDS, animal models and therapy. Each review, where relevant, deals both with clinical presentation and the cellular and molecular basis of the individual disease as well as therapeutic alternatives. All the major immunodeficiencies are devoted at least one chapter each, usually written by an expert involved in active research in the particular area. The section on HIV includes chapters on the natural clinical history of the disease as well as reviews of pathophysiology,
Bystryn, J.-C., S. Ferrone and P. Livingston (Eds.),
Specific Immunotherapy of Cancer with Vaccines, XII +4 1 2 pp., illus. The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 1993 (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. 690). Cloth-bound (price not listed) ISBN 0-89766-825-1 Elsevier ScienceB.V.
treatment and vaccine prospects. Unusual in a book such as this is the inclusion of a section devoted to animal models of immunodeficiency which includes discussion of Scid mice, canine and equine Scid models and primate models for HIV vaccine development. The book is therefore of potential interest to a wide variety of readers although will be most relevant to those involved in the clinical care of, or research into, immunodeficiency syndromes. Inevitably a compilation of papers such as this contains contributions of differing quality as well as some duplication but in general this book provides a useful resource for those without access to Immunodeficiency Re-
views. While the editors state in their preface that this single volume contains the current state of our knowledge about immunodeficiency, they have been a little unfortunate in that the last 18 months has seen great progress within primary immunodeficiency research. The genes responsible for X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (btk, tyrosine kinase), X-linked hyper-IgM (CD40 ligand) and X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (IL-2 receptor 3' chain) have all been identified within months of each other. These recent findings however do not detract from the usefulness of this book as a resource for those interested in both clinical aspects and the biology of congenital and acquired immunodeficiencies. D. GOLDBLATT This book contains papers presented at a conference sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, held in January 1993 at Washington, DC with the aim of disseminating among scientists of various disciplines information on the ways to improve the effectiveness of vaccines for