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Instructions for Geriatric Patients
BOOK REVIEWS
Mayo Clin Proc, September 1996, Vol 71
Contents: The eight contributions, primarily unrelated to one another except for their rather generic relationship to the field of affective disorders, range from molecular biology and genetics to preclinical and clinical pharmacology. Topics include dopaminergic neurobiology of depression, animal models of depression and mania, inositol-linked second messenger systems as a potential therapeutic strategy, genetics of bipolar illness, implications of a temperament-based approach to research in depression, pharmacologic treatment of depression and comorbid anxiety disorders, and long-term prophylaxis of affective disorders. Strengths: I commend the editors for their timely publication of these contributions. Additionally, the textual formatting is superb and reader-friendly. Deficiencies: The nature of the book (plenary lectures from an international meeting) makes it difficult to ensure consistency of topic coverage or even a relationship among the topics presented. The contributions in this volume range from objective and thorough topical reviews to summaries of an individual author's research. Recommended Readership: This book, the 49th volume in a series on advances in biochemical psychopharmacology, should be available in most research libraries for use by research psychiatrists and behavioral neuroscientists. Clinicians with specific interests in one or several of the topics covered may also find the book to be of value. Overall Grading:
***
Keith G. Kramlinger, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
Instructions for Geriatric Patients, by William A. Soderman, Jr., 340 pp, with illus, $35, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company (telephone: 800-545-2522), 1995, ISBN 0-7216-4335-3
Type of Book: A patient education resource for physicians and their office staff, with perforated pages and illustrations. Scope ofBook: This text has several hundred concise and easy-toread informational sheets and instructions that can be tom out (or copied) and given to the patient. It covers a broad range of topics and is intended primarily as an educational and informational resource for elderly patients and their caregivers. Contents: Despite its modest appearance, this unique book is an ambitious undertaking that certainly must have involved many years of work. The text is divided into 23 sections, classified by specific symptoms (such as incontinence) or the organ system involved. The topics covered range from Alzheimer's disease, constipation, and dizziness to legal issues, surgical procedures, and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Although the book is intended primarily for elderly patients and their caregivers, numerous useful and practical items are included for physicians and their office staff. For example, the book has menu guides for diets with various calorie levels, as well as anatomic illustrations that can be used to facilitate physician-patient communication and provide explanations to patients with various symptoms and disease states. Strengths: Overall, the book is comprehensive, easy to read, and user-friendly. It is a compilation of a substantial amount of practical and useful information that should be of help to office-based
921
practitioners. The perforated pages make the instruction sheets useful to office staff, who can photocopy them and distribute them to patients. Deficiencies: In order for the text to be as broad and useful to as many people as possible in various settings, the authors had to use a superficial approach to some topics. Consequently, physicians who use this book as a patient resource will most likely want to annotate most of the instructions before giving them to patients. In addition, although the book is generally easy to read, patients may find some terminology difficult to understand. Recommended Readership: Although potentially useful to anyone involved in the care of elderly patients, the book is best suited for generalist physicians and others involved in the primary or ongoing care of elderly patients. The specific instructions and information contained in the book are intended for the lay public. Overall Grading:
****
Jonathan M. Evans, M.D., Section ofGeriatrics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
BOOKS RECEIVED Principles of Transfusion Medicine, 2nd ed, edited by EnnioC. Rossi, Toby L. Simon, Gerald S. Moss, and Steven A. Gould, 952 pp, with iIlus, $139, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Emergency Medicine Pearls: A Practical Guide for the Efficient Resident, by Adam J. Singer, Jonathan L. Burstein, and Frederick M. Schiavone, 304 pp, with illus, $19.95,Philadelphia, F. A. Davis Company, 1996 Handbook of Exercise Testing, by Victor F. Froelicher and Susan Quaglietti, 164pp, with illus, $25.95,Boston,Little, Brownand Company, 1996 Surgery of the Carotid and Vertebral Arteries for the Prevention of Stroke, by AllanD. Callow,434 pp, with illus, $89,Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Complications in Small Animal Surgery: Diagnosis, Management, Prevention, edited by Alan J. Lipowitz, Dennis D. Caywood, Charles D. Newton, and Anthony Schwartz, 686 pp, with illus, $79.95, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Scientific Basis of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, edited by Alf Axelsson, Hans M. Borchgrevink, Roger P. Hamernik, Per-Anders Hellstrom, DonaldHenderson, and RichardJ. Salvi,472 pp, with illus,$65, New York,ThiemeMedicalPublishers, 1996 Microneurosurgery. Vol IV B: Microneurosurgery ofCNS Tumors, by M. G. Yasargil, 526 pp, with iIlus, $269, New York, Thieme Medical Publishers, 1996 Pocket Guide to Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, edited by Jeffrey S. Dover, 763 pp, with illus, $37.50, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996 Noninvasive Electrocardiology: Clinical Aspects of Holter Monitoring (Frontiers in Cardiology series),edited by Arthur J. Moss and Shlomo Stem,529 pp, withillus,$59,Philadelphia, W. B. SaundersCompany, 1996 Core Anatomy for Students. Vol 1: The Limbs and Vertebral Column, by Christopher Deanand John Pegington, 197pp, with illus, $19, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996 Core Anatomy for Students. Vol 2: The Thorax, Abdomen, Pelvis and Perineum, by Christopher Dean and John Pegington, 139 pp, with illus, $19, Philadelphia, W. B. SaundersCompany, 1996 Essentials of Radiology, by Fred A. Mettler, Jr., 445 pp, with illus, $34.95,Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996
For personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Mayo Clin Proc, September 1996, Vol 71
Contents: The eight contributions, primarily unrelated to one another except for their rather generic relationship to the field of affective disorders, range from molecular biology and genetics to preclinical and clinical pharmacology. Topics include dopaminergic neurobiology of depression, animal models of depression and mania, inositol-linked second messenger systems as a potential therapeutic strategy, genetics of bipolar illness, implications of a temperament-based approach to research in depression, pharmacologic treatment of depression and comorbid anxiety disorders, and long-term prophylaxis of affective disorders. Strengths: I commend the editors for their timely publication of these contributions. Additionally, the textual formatting is superb and reader-friendly. Deficiencies: The nature of the book (plenary lectures from an international meeting) makes it difficult to ensure consistency of topic coverage or even a relationship among the topics presented. The contributions in this volume range from objective and thorough topical reviews to summaries of an individual author's research. Recommended Readership: This book, the 49th volume in a series on advances in biochemical psychopharmacology, should be available in most research libraries for use by research psychiatrists and behavioral neuroscientists. Clinicians with specific interests in one or several of the topics covered may also find the book to be of value. Overall Grading:
***
Keith G. Kramlinger, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
Instructions for Geriatric Patients, by William A. Soderman, Jr., 340 pp, with illus, $35, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company (telephone: 800-545-2522), 1995, ISBN 0-7216-4335-3
Type of Book: A patient education resource for physicians and their office staff, with perforated pages and illustrations. Scope ofBook: This text has several hundred concise and easy-toread informational sheets and instructions that can be tom out (or copied) and given to the patient. It covers a broad range of topics and is intended primarily as an educational and informational resource for elderly patients and their caregivers. Contents: Despite its modest appearance, this unique book is an ambitious undertaking that certainly must have involved many years of work. The text is divided into 23 sections, classified by specific symptoms (such as incontinence) or the organ system involved. The topics covered range from Alzheimer's disease, constipation, and dizziness to legal issues, surgical procedures, and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Although the book is intended primarily for elderly patients and their caregivers, numerous useful and practical items are included for physicians and their office staff. For example, the book has menu guides for diets with various calorie levels, as well as anatomic illustrations that can be used to facilitate physician-patient communication and provide explanations to patients with various symptoms and disease states. Strengths: Overall, the book is comprehensive, easy to read, and user-friendly. It is a compilation of a substantial amount of practical and useful information that should be of help to office-based
921
practitioners. The perforated pages make the instruction sheets useful to office staff, who can photocopy them and distribute them to patients. Deficiencies: In order for the text to be as broad and useful to as many people as possible in various settings, the authors had to use a superficial approach to some topics. Consequently, physicians who use this book as a patient resource will most likely want to annotate most of the instructions before giving them to patients. In addition, although the book is generally easy to read, patients may find some terminology difficult to understand. Recommended Readership: Although potentially useful to anyone involved in the care of elderly patients, the book is best suited for generalist physicians and others involved in the primary or ongoing care of elderly patients. The specific instructions and information contained in the book are intended for the lay public. Overall Grading:
****
Jonathan M. Evans, M.D., Section ofGeriatrics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota
BOOKS RECEIVED Principles of Transfusion Medicine, 2nd ed, edited by EnnioC. Rossi, Toby L. Simon, Gerald S. Moss, and Steven A. Gould, 952 pp, with iIlus, $139, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Emergency Medicine Pearls: A Practical Guide for the Efficient Resident, by Adam J. Singer, Jonathan L. Burstein, and Frederick M. Schiavone, 304 pp, with illus, $19.95,Philadelphia, F. A. Davis Company, 1996 Handbook of Exercise Testing, by Victor F. Froelicher and Susan Quaglietti, 164pp, with illus, $25.95,Boston,Little, Brownand Company, 1996 Surgery of the Carotid and Vertebral Arteries for the Prevention of Stroke, by AllanD. Callow,434 pp, with illus, $89,Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Complications in Small Animal Surgery: Diagnosis, Management, Prevention, edited by Alan J. Lipowitz, Dennis D. Caywood, Charles D. Newton, and Anthony Schwartz, 686 pp, with illus, $79.95, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996 Scientific Basis of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, edited by Alf Axelsson, Hans M. Borchgrevink, Roger P. Hamernik, Per-Anders Hellstrom, DonaldHenderson, and RichardJ. Salvi,472 pp, with illus,$65, New York,ThiemeMedicalPublishers, 1996 Microneurosurgery. Vol IV B: Microneurosurgery ofCNS Tumors, by M. G. Yasargil, 526 pp, with iIlus, $269, New York, Thieme Medical Publishers, 1996 Pocket Guide to Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, edited by Jeffrey S. Dover, 763 pp, with illus, $37.50, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996 Noninvasive Electrocardiology: Clinical Aspects of Holter Monitoring (Frontiers in Cardiology series),edited by Arthur J. Moss and Shlomo Stem,529 pp, withillus,$59,Philadelphia, W. B. SaundersCompany, 1996 Core Anatomy for Students. Vol 1: The Limbs and Vertebral Column, by Christopher Deanand John Pegington, 197pp, with illus, $19, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996 Core Anatomy for Students. Vol 2: The Thorax, Abdomen, Pelvis and Perineum, by Christopher Dean and John Pegington, 139 pp, with illus, $19, Philadelphia, W. B. SaundersCompany, 1996 Essentials of Radiology, by Fred A. Mettler, Jr., 445 pp, with illus, $34.95,Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1996
For personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings.