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Medical parasitology. A self-instructional text
BOOK
May 1986
Escherichia coli and cholera. Although several articles in this section are still up to date, as a whole, the section is hurt by the 3-year delay between the conference and its publication. For instance, this symposium does not contain any of the exciting work in which monoclonal antibodies have been used to determine structure/function relationships on the cholera toxin molecule. The chapter on cholera toxin immunity by Svennerholm and coworkers is noteworthy for its concise review of immunity to cholera in humans. The final third of the book is devoted to a mixture of topics including campylobacter, shigella chemotherapy, and vibrio parahemolyticus. Such important new areas as adherence factors of enteropathogenic E. coli and diarrhea associated with E. coli 0157:H7 are, unfortunately, not covered. Overall, this symposium is not recommended for the general gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist because it is neither all-inclusive nor up to date. It does, however, contain a number of useful chapters, especially those concerning epidemiology, and might be useful for people interested in bacterial diarrhea. HARRY B. GREENBERG, M.D
Palo Alto, California
Medical Parasitology. A Self-Instructional Text. Second ed. By R. Leventhal and R. F. Cheadle. 193 pp., $24.95. FA Davis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1985. The authors propose this book as a learning tool for students of biology, medical technology, medicine, and public health, and in this they have succeeded very well. The 118 color plates, which are derived from multiple sources, and the accuracy of the material presented make this volume well worth the price. Chapters include those on helminths, protozoa, arthropods, clinical laboratory procedures, and control and treatment of parasitic disease. The format is unusual in that each chapter commences with a list of learning objectives and concludes with a set of test questions that can be checked by an answer key. At the end there is a final, comprehensive examination. Emphasis is placed on life cycles, morphology, and laboratory techniques. Clinical-medical correlation is sketchy and the work does not pretend to be, nor should it be considered as, a reference source for parasitic problems. For example, the term “amebic hepatitis” is controversial, and most authorities hold that diffuse liver involvement with E. histolytica has not been proven. The authors imply, incorrectly, that amebic liver abscess should be included under this heading. Generally, however, their terminology is precise. The gastroenterologist might wish for a presentation of some of the parasitoses that are pertinent to his subspecialty, i.e., anisakiasis and cryptosporidiosis; however, as a teaching aid the volume is unique. LEE S. MONROE, M.D.
San Diego, California
Enterohepatic Circulation of Bile Acids and Sterol Metabolism: Faik Symposium 42. Edited by G. Paumgartner, A.
REVIEWS
1307
Stiehl, and W. Gerok. 393 pp., $61.00. MTP Press Ltd., Lancaster, U. K. (distributed in U.S. by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Hingham, Massachusetts), 1985. The proceedings of the VIII International Bile Acid Meeting held in Berne, Switzerland in late 1984 are well chronicled in this volume. Through the years, these meetings have afforded a unique opportunity for workers in the field to get together and exchange views and the latest data. Invited speakers also present overviews of current and important areas. The makeup of the symposium reflects this mix: articles dealing with the authors’ own recent research results interspersed with an occasional longer article in which authors adopt a broader view of a subject, how it evolved, and where it is leading. Almost without exception the overview articles are very well written and concise. They serve not only as a rapid primer in a given area, but they also provide a reference list that includes the most important and best contributions to the field. The article by Dietschy and colleagues, for instance, summarizes a vast amount of their work of validating the use of tritiated water to trace cholesterol metabolism. Grundy and Bilheimer summarize the extraordinary story of the regulation of the LDL receptor by events in the enterohepatic circulation and elsewhere. In a section entitled “Update on gallstone disease,” Ransohoff reviews his own work and the work of others in what seems to me to be the clearest and briefest statement available on the issues, answers, and current status of knowledge of the natural history of silent gallstones. The articles dealing with recent research results are more heterogeneous in format. Some border on being “overview” articles in that the authors do place their recent results in perspective by describing events leading up to them. Other articles simply present a precis of the authors’ already published work. They have the virtue of reminding one of the article’s salient points, but they cannot substitute for the original. Finally, a few of the articles are short statements of negative studies or very brief summaries, almost without data, of much more substantive works. These latter articles simply document that a paper was presented. The symposium is a broad chronicle of current activity in the bile acid field. This is of obvious value to the researcher, who can often find a summary of important advances and references more easily than by consulting his own files or Medline. The researcher in other, but perhaps related, fields can get a rapid overview of what is going on “next door.” The same holds true for the trainee in gastroenterology who is getting acquainted with the opportunities in research. However, there is little in this volume for the medical student, medical or surgical resident, or busy practitioner. The volume should be in medical school libraries and on the shelves of investigators interested in bile acids, gallstones, and cholesterol metabolism. The topics are remarkably current, thanks to the short lag-time in publication. The printing and illustrations are excellent, and the price is acceptable. WILLIAM G. M. HARDISON. M.D.
San Diego,
California
May 1986
Escherichia coli and cholera. Although several articles in this section are still up to date, as a whole, the section is hurt by the 3-year delay between the conference and its publication. For instance, this symposium does not contain any of the exciting work in which monoclonal antibodies have been used to determine structure/function relationships on the cholera toxin molecule. The chapter on cholera toxin immunity by Svennerholm and coworkers is noteworthy for its concise review of immunity to cholera in humans. The final third of the book is devoted to a mixture of topics including campylobacter, shigella chemotherapy, and vibrio parahemolyticus. Such important new areas as adherence factors of enteropathogenic E. coli and diarrhea associated with E. coli 0157:H7 are, unfortunately, not covered. Overall, this symposium is not recommended for the general gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist because it is neither all-inclusive nor up to date. It does, however, contain a number of useful chapters, especially those concerning epidemiology, and might be useful for people interested in bacterial diarrhea. HARRY B. GREENBERG, M.D
Palo Alto, California
Medical Parasitology. A Self-Instructional Text. Second ed. By R. Leventhal and R. F. Cheadle. 193 pp., $24.95. FA Davis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1985. The authors propose this book as a learning tool for students of biology, medical technology, medicine, and public health, and in this they have succeeded very well. The 118 color plates, which are derived from multiple sources, and the accuracy of the material presented make this volume well worth the price. Chapters include those on helminths, protozoa, arthropods, clinical laboratory procedures, and control and treatment of parasitic disease. The format is unusual in that each chapter commences with a list of learning objectives and concludes with a set of test questions that can be checked by an answer key. At the end there is a final, comprehensive examination. Emphasis is placed on life cycles, morphology, and laboratory techniques. Clinical-medical correlation is sketchy and the work does not pretend to be, nor should it be considered as, a reference source for parasitic problems. For example, the term “amebic hepatitis” is controversial, and most authorities hold that diffuse liver involvement with E. histolytica has not been proven. The authors imply, incorrectly, that amebic liver abscess should be included under this heading. Generally, however, their terminology is precise. The gastroenterologist might wish for a presentation of some of the parasitoses that are pertinent to his subspecialty, i.e., anisakiasis and cryptosporidiosis; however, as a teaching aid the volume is unique. LEE S. MONROE, M.D.
San Diego, California
Enterohepatic Circulation of Bile Acids and Sterol Metabolism: Faik Symposium 42. Edited by G. Paumgartner, A.
REVIEWS
1307
Stiehl, and W. Gerok. 393 pp., $61.00. MTP Press Ltd., Lancaster, U. K. (distributed in U.S. by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Hingham, Massachusetts), 1985. The proceedings of the VIII International Bile Acid Meeting held in Berne, Switzerland in late 1984 are well chronicled in this volume. Through the years, these meetings have afforded a unique opportunity for workers in the field to get together and exchange views and the latest data. Invited speakers also present overviews of current and important areas. The makeup of the symposium reflects this mix: articles dealing with the authors’ own recent research results interspersed with an occasional longer article in which authors adopt a broader view of a subject, how it evolved, and where it is leading. Almost without exception the overview articles are very well written and concise. They serve not only as a rapid primer in a given area, but they also provide a reference list that includes the most important and best contributions to the field. The article by Dietschy and colleagues, for instance, summarizes a vast amount of their work of validating the use of tritiated water to trace cholesterol metabolism. Grundy and Bilheimer summarize the extraordinary story of the regulation of the LDL receptor by events in the enterohepatic circulation and elsewhere. In a section entitled “Update on gallstone disease,” Ransohoff reviews his own work and the work of others in what seems to me to be the clearest and briefest statement available on the issues, answers, and current status of knowledge of the natural history of silent gallstones. The articles dealing with recent research results are more heterogeneous in format. Some border on being “overview” articles in that the authors do place their recent results in perspective by describing events leading up to them. Other articles simply present a precis of the authors’ already published work. They have the virtue of reminding one of the article’s salient points, but they cannot substitute for the original. Finally, a few of the articles are short statements of negative studies or very brief summaries, almost without data, of much more substantive works. These latter articles simply document that a paper was presented. The symposium is a broad chronicle of current activity in the bile acid field. This is of obvious value to the researcher, who can often find a summary of important advances and references more easily than by consulting his own files or Medline. The researcher in other, but perhaps related, fields can get a rapid overview of what is going on “next door.” The same holds true for the trainee in gastroenterology who is getting acquainted with the opportunities in research. However, there is little in this volume for the medical student, medical or surgical resident, or busy practitioner. The volume should be in medical school libraries and on the shelves of investigators interested in bile acids, gallstones, and cholesterol metabolism. The topics are remarkably current, thanks to the short lag-time in publication. The printing and illustrations are excellent, and the price is acceptable. WILLIAM G. M. HARDISON. M.D.
San Diego,
California