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Perinatal pharmacology and therapeutics
66
Book reviews
solid state. in aqueous solution. in model systems or complex mixtures and in the whole food product. It is apparent that the major food components respond to irradiation in uniform ways and that the radiolytic products detected so far in irradiated foods, including many found also in non-irradiated foods. are not present in toxicologically-significant concentrations. Further chemical analyses of radiolytic products, coupled in some instances with toxicity tests on the compounds identified, will faCilitate greatly the evaluation of irradiated food. This book will be valuable to chemists. to biochemists. to food scientists and technologists and to toxicologists working in the field of food irradiation, as well as to scientists engaged in government departments and international agencies concerned with the control of food preservation. Above all, it should stimulate interest in the application of radiationchemistry studies to the evaluation of the wholesomeness of irradiated foods and promote an appreciation of the potential value of this approach.
Pesticide Manual. Basic Information on the Olemicals used as Active Components of Pesticides. 5th Ed. Edited by H. Martin and C. R. Worthing. Issued by the British Crop Protection Council, 1977. pp. vii + 593. £15.00. The rate of production of novel pesticidal formulations and information about them is such that useful coverage of this vast subject can only be provided by frequently revised editions. This new fifth edition of the "Pesticide Manual" has made its appearance little more than 2 years after publication of the fourth. In an attempt to keep up with pesticide developments, the manual includes compounds that had reached only the stage of submission to outside authorities for field studies. In contrast. those compounds that were formerly marketed or widely reported but have now fallen out of favour are listed in the appendix. The editors have collated details on nomenclature, history, manufacture, physical. chemical and biological properties, formulations and analysis. Although appropriate references are included in almost all other areas. references for the toxicity data are sparse, precluding any attempt to evaluate the original source or check the accuracy of the data. For example. the manual provides an oral LD 50 for aminotriazole of I 100-2500 mgJkg in rats. In contrast, the FAOjWHO publication "Pesticide Residues in Food" (1974) indicates an LD 50 for the rat of 25,000 mg/kg by the same route. Without the original source one cannot be certain that the manual's figures are reliable. Despite these limitations the manual can be very useful. Not only is the Chemical Abstracts Registry Number provided for each compound. but the index includes common. chemical and trade names as well as code numbers. In this respect. the publication is a 'must' for consultation before any literature search on a pesticidal compound is undertaken. For the majority of the pesticides, the structures and molecular formulae are shown, together with their Wiswesser Line Formula Notations (WLN).
These notations. which are becoming increasingly popular in chemical documentation, are strings of symbols constructed by strict rules to provide a compact. unique and unambiguous description of the molecular structure in linear form. Although the principles of encoding structures into WLN require some weeks of training, the manual's two-page 'do-it-yourself WLN' provides an interesting insight into the scheme. The manual describes its approach as 'basic'. It is indeed a basic necessity when information on pesticides is required.
Perinatal Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Edited by B. L. Mirkin. Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd.. 1976. pp. x + 455. £13.75. It has become almost axiomatic in science that increasing advancement causes established disciplines to become fragmented into a number of separate specializations, which in turn expand only to be further subdivided. In the case of pharmacology. this process has led to a plethora of new names, such as systematic pharmacology, autopharmacology. pharmacokinetics. pharmacodynamics and pharmaco-therapeutics. Although some of these divisions are justified. others must be suspected of serving only to placate man's ego. This volume on perinatal pharmacology and therapeutics, however, must dispel any criticism that may arise from the appearance of yet another subdivision and helps to establish its subject as a viable discipline in its own right. The book deals with the effects and interactions of drugs and other chemicals in both the foetus and neonate. The first three chapters deal with prenatal pharmacology and the fifth with postnatal pharmacology, whilst the fourth spans both periods of development. Following the pattern of many successful and authoritative books, each chapter has been written by people pre-eminent in that particular field. The first chapter considers the transfer of pharmacologically active molecules across the placenta, whilst the second discusses the capacity of human and other placental tissues to metabolize both endogenous and exogenous compounds by the classic biotransformation reactions of oxidation, reduction. hydrolysis and conjugation. The distribution and metabolism of drugs in the foetus forms the main topic of chapter 3. thus completing the prenatal section of the book. This is followed by a long and detailed consideration of the ways in which drugs, administered during the pre-, peri- or postnatal periods, can affect neuronal development and subsequent patterns of behaviour in young animals and in the human child. The fifth and final chapter concentrates on the clinical implications of neonatal pharmacology. including the interplay of factors involved in the manifestation of teratogenic effects, foetal pharmacology and the treatment of foetal disease in utero and the transfer of drugs and other chemicals from the lactating mother to the neonate in the milk. Although the prime interest of this book lies with man, particularly in the last chapter, a great deal of information derived from animal studies is mentioned
Book reviews
67
and discussed. The provision, where appropriate, of anatomical, histological and physiological background to the various systems considered allows the chapters to be read without reference to other texts. Altogether, the book should prove an asset to anyone concerned with the effects of chemicals on the developing embryo and neonate, and it is not, by current standards, unreasonably priced.
is made to include experimental material which many would regard as highly relevant to the human situation. These omissions leave important gaps in what would otherwise have been a good and up-to-date review of liver cancer. Perhaps the title should have stressed that the book is heavily biased towards hepatocellular carcinoma in man.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Edited by K. Okuda and R. L. Peters. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1976. pp. x + 499. £27.60.
Glutathione: Metabolism and Function. Kroc Foundation Series. Vol. 6. Edited by I. M. Arias and W. B. Jakoby. Raven Press, New York, 1976. pp. xiii + 382. 528.50.
Tumours of the liver may arise either in the absence of any previous hepatic disease or in association with chronic hepatic disorders. Both types present a challenge to the diagnostician and pathologist. Primary hepatic tumours in man are relatively rare in temperate climates but occur quite frequently in tropical countries. This is particularly the case with tumours that arise from liver cells. Tumours arising from the bile ducts are universally infrequent and cancers of other constituents of the liver, such as the blood vessels or connective tissue, are extremely rare in all climes. Since liver-cell tumours associated with liver disease are fairly common in man, the pathological lesions associated with liver cancer are carefully considered in this book. Cirrhosis, particularly the macronodular type with wide bands of fibrosis, is more often associated with carcinoma than is any other hepatic lesion. inflammatory or reactive. Other types of cirrhosis are less liable to be associated with cancer, the least liable being the fine micronodular type of cirrhosis. This and other aspects of the physiopathology of liver cancer are well covered and particular attention has been paid to the clinical manifestations of the disease and to the means available for its diagnosis and for monitoring its progress. Each of the 21 chapters has a separate author and the book is divided into four parts, dealing in tum with pathogenesis, aetiology, pathology and clinical features. Apart from the first chapter, the whole book is concerned with the disease in man. The first chapter IS a good and concise account of the mode of induction and progression of experimentally induced carcinoma. Unfortunately it keeps too much to the 'central dogma' of chemical carcinogenesis, implying that all chemically induced cancers are the result of damage to DNA. The validity of this mechanism in many chemically induced tumours is unquestionable but other mechanisms involving chronic repeated injury cannot be disregarded. particularly in the light of the strong evidence that in man cirrhosis predisposes to carcinoma. First chapters are usually reserved for topics considered to be particularly interesting, and the prominence given in this case to the pathogenesis of experimentally induced tumours leads the reader to expect more on the same topic. Unfortunately this expectation is unfulfilled and the vast amount of material on the mechanisms of induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in experimental animals remams virtually unconsidered. Furthermore, in the various chapters on the disease in man, little effort
Fcr 161--E
This volume contains 25 papers which were presented at a workshop sponsored by the Kroc Foundation and the Liver Research Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and held in June 1975. The aim of the workshop was to discuss and evaluate the recent advances made in elucidating the unique role of this tripeptide in such apparently diverse areas as transport mechanisms and the metabolism, disposition and detoxication of foreign compounds, including carcinogens. The importance of the subject attracted a number of eminent scientists. and dissertations of exemplary standard by the 46 contributors and the high quality of the ensuing discussions apparently made the meeting an outstanding success. This is clearly reflected in the book, which is divided into four sections. the first of which consists of seven papers dealing with the general aspects of glutathione metabolism. These range from the chemical properties of glutathione and the enzymic processes mediated by it to a review of conjugation reactions and mercapturic acid excretion. The second section examines the regulatory mechanisms governing the oxidation/reduction states of glutathione, and the third deals with the structure, regulation and function of glutathione S-transferases and Iigandin. The importance attached to this family of catalytic binding proteins, representing an extraordinarily adept system for detoxication, is reflected in the fact that this aspect of the subject occupies almost half of the book. The final section is concerned with the role of glutathione in chemically induced injury and carcinogenesIs. In each of the sections, critical discussions of the papers constitute a valuable adjunct to the text. The diverse and essential functions of glutathIOne in regulatory mechanisms of the body are being increasingly recognized and this book presents information of considerable importance on the subject.
Biochemical Toxicology of Environmental Agents. By A. De Bruin. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, 1976. pp. x + 1544. Dfl. 320.00. The growing awareness of toxic hazards in man's chemical environment has led to an increasing emphasis on the study of the toxicity of food additives, drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals. Additionally, particular attention is being paid to the biochemical processes underlying the onset of overt toxic
Book reviews
solid state. in aqueous solution. in model systems or complex mixtures and in the whole food product. It is apparent that the major food components respond to irradiation in uniform ways and that the radiolytic products detected so far in irradiated foods, including many found also in non-irradiated foods. are not present in toxicologically-significant concentrations. Further chemical analyses of radiolytic products, coupled in some instances with toxicity tests on the compounds identified, will faCilitate greatly the evaluation of irradiated food. This book will be valuable to chemists. to biochemists. to food scientists and technologists and to toxicologists working in the field of food irradiation, as well as to scientists engaged in government departments and international agencies concerned with the control of food preservation. Above all, it should stimulate interest in the application of radiationchemistry studies to the evaluation of the wholesomeness of irradiated foods and promote an appreciation of the potential value of this approach.
Pesticide Manual. Basic Information on the Olemicals used as Active Components of Pesticides. 5th Ed. Edited by H. Martin and C. R. Worthing. Issued by the British Crop Protection Council, 1977. pp. vii + 593. £15.00. The rate of production of novel pesticidal formulations and information about them is such that useful coverage of this vast subject can only be provided by frequently revised editions. This new fifth edition of the "Pesticide Manual" has made its appearance little more than 2 years after publication of the fourth. In an attempt to keep up with pesticide developments, the manual includes compounds that had reached only the stage of submission to outside authorities for field studies. In contrast. those compounds that were formerly marketed or widely reported but have now fallen out of favour are listed in the appendix. The editors have collated details on nomenclature, history, manufacture, physical. chemical and biological properties, formulations and analysis. Although appropriate references are included in almost all other areas. references for the toxicity data are sparse, precluding any attempt to evaluate the original source or check the accuracy of the data. For example. the manual provides an oral LD 50 for aminotriazole of I 100-2500 mgJkg in rats. In contrast, the FAOjWHO publication "Pesticide Residues in Food" (1974) indicates an LD 50 for the rat of 25,000 mg/kg by the same route. Without the original source one cannot be certain that the manual's figures are reliable. Despite these limitations the manual can be very useful. Not only is the Chemical Abstracts Registry Number provided for each compound. but the index includes common. chemical and trade names as well as code numbers. In this respect. the publication is a 'must' for consultation before any literature search on a pesticidal compound is undertaken. For the majority of the pesticides, the structures and molecular formulae are shown, together with their Wiswesser Line Formula Notations (WLN).
These notations. which are becoming increasingly popular in chemical documentation, are strings of symbols constructed by strict rules to provide a compact. unique and unambiguous description of the molecular structure in linear form. Although the principles of encoding structures into WLN require some weeks of training, the manual's two-page 'do-it-yourself WLN' provides an interesting insight into the scheme. The manual describes its approach as 'basic'. It is indeed a basic necessity when information on pesticides is required.
Perinatal Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Edited by B. L. Mirkin. Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd.. 1976. pp. x + 455. £13.75. It has become almost axiomatic in science that increasing advancement causes established disciplines to become fragmented into a number of separate specializations, which in turn expand only to be further subdivided. In the case of pharmacology. this process has led to a plethora of new names, such as systematic pharmacology, autopharmacology. pharmacokinetics. pharmacodynamics and pharmaco-therapeutics. Although some of these divisions are justified. others must be suspected of serving only to placate man's ego. This volume on perinatal pharmacology and therapeutics, however, must dispel any criticism that may arise from the appearance of yet another subdivision and helps to establish its subject as a viable discipline in its own right. The book deals with the effects and interactions of drugs and other chemicals in both the foetus and neonate. The first three chapters deal with prenatal pharmacology and the fifth with postnatal pharmacology, whilst the fourth spans both periods of development. Following the pattern of many successful and authoritative books, each chapter has been written by people pre-eminent in that particular field. The first chapter considers the transfer of pharmacologically active molecules across the placenta, whilst the second discusses the capacity of human and other placental tissues to metabolize both endogenous and exogenous compounds by the classic biotransformation reactions of oxidation, reduction. hydrolysis and conjugation. The distribution and metabolism of drugs in the foetus forms the main topic of chapter 3. thus completing the prenatal section of the book. This is followed by a long and detailed consideration of the ways in which drugs, administered during the pre-, peri- or postnatal periods, can affect neuronal development and subsequent patterns of behaviour in young animals and in the human child. The fifth and final chapter concentrates on the clinical implications of neonatal pharmacology. including the interplay of factors involved in the manifestation of teratogenic effects, foetal pharmacology and the treatment of foetal disease in utero and the transfer of drugs and other chemicals from the lactating mother to the neonate in the milk. Although the prime interest of this book lies with man, particularly in the last chapter, a great deal of information derived from animal studies is mentioned
Book reviews
67
and discussed. The provision, where appropriate, of anatomical, histological and physiological background to the various systems considered allows the chapters to be read without reference to other texts. Altogether, the book should prove an asset to anyone concerned with the effects of chemicals on the developing embryo and neonate, and it is not, by current standards, unreasonably priced.
is made to include experimental material which many would regard as highly relevant to the human situation. These omissions leave important gaps in what would otherwise have been a good and up-to-date review of liver cancer. Perhaps the title should have stressed that the book is heavily biased towards hepatocellular carcinoma in man.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Edited by K. Okuda and R. L. Peters. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1976. pp. x + 499. £27.60.
Glutathione: Metabolism and Function. Kroc Foundation Series. Vol. 6. Edited by I. M. Arias and W. B. Jakoby. Raven Press, New York, 1976. pp. xiii + 382. 528.50.
Tumours of the liver may arise either in the absence of any previous hepatic disease or in association with chronic hepatic disorders. Both types present a challenge to the diagnostician and pathologist. Primary hepatic tumours in man are relatively rare in temperate climates but occur quite frequently in tropical countries. This is particularly the case with tumours that arise from liver cells. Tumours arising from the bile ducts are universally infrequent and cancers of other constituents of the liver, such as the blood vessels or connective tissue, are extremely rare in all climes. Since liver-cell tumours associated with liver disease are fairly common in man, the pathological lesions associated with liver cancer are carefully considered in this book. Cirrhosis, particularly the macronodular type with wide bands of fibrosis, is more often associated with carcinoma than is any other hepatic lesion. inflammatory or reactive. Other types of cirrhosis are less liable to be associated with cancer, the least liable being the fine micronodular type of cirrhosis. This and other aspects of the physiopathology of liver cancer are well covered and particular attention has been paid to the clinical manifestations of the disease and to the means available for its diagnosis and for monitoring its progress. Each of the 21 chapters has a separate author and the book is divided into four parts, dealing in tum with pathogenesis, aetiology, pathology and clinical features. Apart from the first chapter, the whole book is concerned with the disease in man. The first chapter IS a good and concise account of the mode of induction and progression of experimentally induced carcinoma. Unfortunately it keeps too much to the 'central dogma' of chemical carcinogenesis, implying that all chemically induced cancers are the result of damage to DNA. The validity of this mechanism in many chemically induced tumours is unquestionable but other mechanisms involving chronic repeated injury cannot be disregarded. particularly in the light of the strong evidence that in man cirrhosis predisposes to carcinoma. First chapters are usually reserved for topics considered to be particularly interesting, and the prominence given in this case to the pathogenesis of experimentally induced tumours leads the reader to expect more on the same topic. Unfortunately this expectation is unfulfilled and the vast amount of material on the mechanisms of induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in experimental animals remams virtually unconsidered. Furthermore, in the various chapters on the disease in man, little effort
Fcr 161--E
This volume contains 25 papers which were presented at a workshop sponsored by the Kroc Foundation and the Liver Research Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and held in June 1975. The aim of the workshop was to discuss and evaluate the recent advances made in elucidating the unique role of this tripeptide in such apparently diverse areas as transport mechanisms and the metabolism, disposition and detoxication of foreign compounds, including carcinogens. The importance of the subject attracted a number of eminent scientists. and dissertations of exemplary standard by the 46 contributors and the high quality of the ensuing discussions apparently made the meeting an outstanding success. This is clearly reflected in the book, which is divided into four sections. the first of which consists of seven papers dealing with the general aspects of glutathione metabolism. These range from the chemical properties of glutathione and the enzymic processes mediated by it to a review of conjugation reactions and mercapturic acid excretion. The second section examines the regulatory mechanisms governing the oxidation/reduction states of glutathione, and the third deals with the structure, regulation and function of glutathione S-transferases and Iigandin. The importance attached to this family of catalytic binding proteins, representing an extraordinarily adept system for detoxication, is reflected in the fact that this aspect of the subject occupies almost half of the book. The final section is concerned with the role of glutathione in chemically induced injury and carcinogenesIs. In each of the sections, critical discussions of the papers constitute a valuable adjunct to the text. The diverse and essential functions of glutathIOne in regulatory mechanisms of the body are being increasingly recognized and this book presents information of considerable importance on the subject.
Biochemical Toxicology of Environmental Agents. By A. De Bruin. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, 1976. pp. x + 1544. Dfl. 320.00. The growing awareness of toxic hazards in man's chemical environment has led to an increasing emphasis on the study of the toxicity of food additives, drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals. Additionally, particular attention is being paid to the biochemical processes underlying the onset of overt toxic