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Progress in allergy
146
BOOK REVIEWS
on contributions presented to a symposium on the Etiology and Pathogenesis of Diabetes Mellitus, that was held in October 1980. As is usual in this type of publication, there is a lack of cohesion and balance between different contributions. A section on Etiological Factors includes only three chapters: Genetics of Insulin Dependent Diabetes, Islet Cell Antibodies, and Viral Diabetes: Factors Influencing the Severity of the Insular Lesion in Experimental Murine Disease. On the other hand, the section on Epidemiological Studies, which is the most extensive of the book, includes five chapters with ample data on the HLA phenotype distribution of diabetes, including results of an excellent survey carried on by a Finnish group. Other sections include Insulin Receptors and Animal Models, the latter of which includes two chapters, one discussing diabetes in the Chinese hamster, the other discussing the “BB” Wistar rat. In spite of its shortcomings, given the good quality of most chapters, this book may be of considerable interest to diabetologists, particularly to those interested in immunogenetic studies in diabetes, which clearly is its strongest area. Department
G. VIKEL.LA of Basic and Clinical Immunology arid Microbiolog> Medical University of South Carolina Charleston. South Carolina 29425
Volume 30. Recent Trends in Allergen and Complement Research. Edited by P. Kall6s. Karger, Basel/New York, 1982. 234 pp. $79.75. Volume 30 is an excellent combination of four reviews. The content and format are easy to read, very cognitive, and enjoyable for the practitioner and investigator alike. Baldo et al., in the first review, attempt to focus on the problem of hypersensitivity of the skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal tract toward grasses and cereals. Cross sensitizations, insects, and fungi contamination (may act as amplifiers) should alert not only the allergist-immunologist concerned with direct patient care, but also the agronomist-nutritionist and those in the field of preventive, occupational health care. Some clinical and immunochemical aspects of penicillin reactions are reviewed in the second chapter by Ahlstedt and Kristofferson; more and more investigation is directed toward impurities and metabolic by-products. Chemical aggregates resulting from the interactions among the host viruses and agents of inflammation are considered. The third review by Loos is a detailed discussion of the present status of interaction between the antigen-antibody complex and the first component of the complement. The subcomponents of C, and the role of the macrophage system are properly emphasized in the process of the defense mechanism. The fourth article by Kazatchkine and Nydegger, after a brief historical introduction, is a review of the present knowledge in activating the complement cascade by alternative pathways. Pharmacologic modulations with subsequent PROGRESS IN ALLERGY.
BOOK REVIEWS
147
therapeutic applications are considered in some of the most devastating human diseases. The bibliography in each review is numerically impressive with a wide geographic distribution. Department
OSCARFARMATI of Basic and Clinical Immunology and Microbiology Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, South Carolina 29425
BOOK REVIEWS
on contributions presented to a symposium on the Etiology and Pathogenesis of Diabetes Mellitus, that was held in October 1980. As is usual in this type of publication, there is a lack of cohesion and balance between different contributions. A section on Etiological Factors includes only three chapters: Genetics of Insulin Dependent Diabetes, Islet Cell Antibodies, and Viral Diabetes: Factors Influencing the Severity of the Insular Lesion in Experimental Murine Disease. On the other hand, the section on Epidemiological Studies, which is the most extensive of the book, includes five chapters with ample data on the HLA phenotype distribution of diabetes, including results of an excellent survey carried on by a Finnish group. Other sections include Insulin Receptors and Animal Models, the latter of which includes two chapters, one discussing diabetes in the Chinese hamster, the other discussing the “BB” Wistar rat. In spite of its shortcomings, given the good quality of most chapters, this book may be of considerable interest to diabetologists, particularly to those interested in immunogenetic studies in diabetes, which clearly is its strongest area. Department
G. VIKEL.LA of Basic and Clinical Immunology arid Microbiolog> Medical University of South Carolina Charleston. South Carolina 29425
Volume 30. Recent Trends in Allergen and Complement Research. Edited by P. Kall6s. Karger, Basel/New York, 1982. 234 pp. $79.75. Volume 30 is an excellent combination of four reviews. The content and format are easy to read, very cognitive, and enjoyable for the practitioner and investigator alike. Baldo et al., in the first review, attempt to focus on the problem of hypersensitivity of the skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal tract toward grasses and cereals. Cross sensitizations, insects, and fungi contamination (may act as amplifiers) should alert not only the allergist-immunologist concerned with direct patient care, but also the agronomist-nutritionist and those in the field of preventive, occupational health care. Some clinical and immunochemical aspects of penicillin reactions are reviewed in the second chapter by Ahlstedt and Kristofferson; more and more investigation is directed toward impurities and metabolic by-products. Chemical aggregates resulting from the interactions among the host viruses and agents of inflammation are considered. The third review by Loos is a detailed discussion of the present status of interaction between the antigen-antibody complex and the first component of the complement. The subcomponents of C, and the role of the macrophage system are properly emphasized in the process of the defense mechanism. The fourth article by Kazatchkine and Nydegger, after a brief historical introduction, is a review of the present knowledge in activating the complement cascade by alternative pathways. Pharmacologic modulations with subsequent PROGRESS IN ALLERGY.
BOOK REVIEWS
147
therapeutic applications are considered in some of the most devastating human diseases. The bibliography in each review is numerically impressive with a wide geographic distribution. Department
OSCARFARMATI of Basic and Clinical Immunology and Microbiology Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, South Carolina 29425