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Somatostatin, vol. 1 (annual research review)
BOOK REVIEWS
252
The final chapter by Marks provides a most fitting conclusion for this assembly of reviews, because it summarizes the studies on biotransformation of “pre-pro” (“big-big”) hormones which may account for the production of families of biologically active hormones. From pro-ACTH may be derived ACTH, the MSHs, the lipotropins and, from the latter, the opioid peptides. The fragmentary evidence for the existence of precursors for hypothalamic regulations of adenohypophyseal hormones, the neurohypophyseal hormones, and neurophysins is assembled and analyzed. This volume is, overall, a valuable source book of current literature (through 1977) in neuroendocrinology. The information dealt with is almost exclusively derived from mammals-in fact, largely from rats. The original two-volume set contained a fair amount of comparative information. In the “Frontiers” series, non-mammalian neuroendocrinology has progressively disappeared. Alas, the “lower animals,” especially invertebrates, wherein the original concepts of neuroendocrinology, based on neurosecretions, were largely developed, now clearly belong to a separate culture. Departme&
CHARLES L. RALPH of Zoology and Entomology Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado
Somatostatin, Vol. 1 (Annual Research Review) by MARY T. MCQUILLAN. Eden Medical Research, Inc. St. Albans, Vermont. $20.00. 227 pp.; Subject index. 1979.
This book is an excellent review of ten years of research on somatostatin, from its discovery in crude ovine hypothalamine extracts in 1967 to investigations performed in early 1977. The book is easy to read and is a useful reference for students or senior investigators. After a brief introductory chapter, seven chapters are devoted to discussion of the effects of somatostatin on the secretion of individual hormones and its effects on nonendocrine tissues. The clear
organization of these chapters simplifies the reader’s analysis of the multiple actions of somatostatin. In each section of the book, research on a particular effect of somatostatin is reviewed, and the sections are subdivided into discussions of research on different species. Studies performed with in vitro systems are discussed in separate sections from those done in viva. Some readers may object to the repetitive citation of a single investigative report containing findings on varied effects of somatostatin, but this repetition is necessary for distinction of somatostatin’s actions. In Chaps. lo- 13 of the book, the anatomic distribution, chemical properties, analogs, and production and catabolism of somatostatin are discussed. In Chaps. 9 and 13-16, the author tackles the unresolved questions of the mode of action of somatostatin, whether it is a neurotransmitter, whether its action on hormonal secretion is physiological, and whether somatostatin is clinically useful. Available evidence on these controversial topics is presented clearly and without bias, and the reader is permitted to draw his own conclusions. Since numerous studies have addressed these questions recently, it is the hope of this reviewer that Dr. McQuillan will follow Vol. 1 with another wellresearched volume on somatostatin. JENNIFER STEWART University of Washington and the Harborview Medical Center Seattle, Washington Endocrine Rhythms (Comprehensive Endocrinology Series) Edited by DOROTHY T. KRIEGER. Raven Press, New York. $26.00. xii + 344 pp.; Illustr.; Subject index. 1979.
Since the earliest days of their science, endocrinologists, for very obvious reasons, have sustained a keen interest in both periodic and nonperiodic changes in endocrine function. The advent of microtechniques for measurement of concentrations of most vertebrate hormones has generated an explosive increase in investigations of di-
252
The final chapter by Marks provides a most fitting conclusion for this assembly of reviews, because it summarizes the studies on biotransformation of “pre-pro” (“big-big”) hormones which may account for the production of families of biologically active hormones. From pro-ACTH may be derived ACTH, the MSHs, the lipotropins and, from the latter, the opioid peptides. The fragmentary evidence for the existence of precursors for hypothalamic regulations of adenohypophyseal hormones, the neurohypophyseal hormones, and neurophysins is assembled and analyzed. This volume is, overall, a valuable source book of current literature (through 1977) in neuroendocrinology. The information dealt with is almost exclusively derived from mammals-in fact, largely from rats. The original two-volume set contained a fair amount of comparative information. In the “Frontiers” series, non-mammalian neuroendocrinology has progressively disappeared. Alas, the “lower animals,” especially invertebrates, wherein the original concepts of neuroendocrinology, based on neurosecretions, were largely developed, now clearly belong to a separate culture. Departme&
CHARLES L. RALPH of Zoology and Entomology Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado
Somatostatin, Vol. 1 (Annual Research Review) by MARY T. MCQUILLAN. Eden Medical Research, Inc. St. Albans, Vermont. $20.00. 227 pp.; Subject index. 1979.
This book is an excellent review of ten years of research on somatostatin, from its discovery in crude ovine hypothalamine extracts in 1967 to investigations performed in early 1977. The book is easy to read and is a useful reference for students or senior investigators. After a brief introductory chapter, seven chapters are devoted to discussion of the effects of somatostatin on the secretion of individual hormones and its effects on nonendocrine tissues. The clear
organization of these chapters simplifies the reader’s analysis of the multiple actions of somatostatin. In each section of the book, research on a particular effect of somatostatin is reviewed, and the sections are subdivided into discussions of research on different species. Studies performed with in vitro systems are discussed in separate sections from those done in viva. Some readers may object to the repetitive citation of a single investigative report containing findings on varied effects of somatostatin, but this repetition is necessary for distinction of somatostatin’s actions. In Chaps. lo- 13 of the book, the anatomic distribution, chemical properties, analogs, and production and catabolism of somatostatin are discussed. In Chaps. 9 and 13-16, the author tackles the unresolved questions of the mode of action of somatostatin, whether it is a neurotransmitter, whether its action on hormonal secretion is physiological, and whether somatostatin is clinically useful. Available evidence on these controversial topics is presented clearly and without bias, and the reader is permitted to draw his own conclusions. Since numerous studies have addressed these questions recently, it is the hope of this reviewer that Dr. McQuillan will follow Vol. 1 with another wellresearched volume on somatostatin. JENNIFER STEWART University of Washington and the Harborview Medical Center Seattle, Washington Endocrine Rhythms (Comprehensive Endocrinology Series) Edited by DOROTHY T. KRIEGER. Raven Press, New York. $26.00. xii + 344 pp.; Illustr.; Subject index. 1979.
Since the earliest days of their science, endocrinologists, for very obvious reasons, have sustained a keen interest in both periodic and nonperiodic changes in endocrine function. The advent of microtechniques for measurement of concentrations of most vertebrate hormones has generated an explosive increase in investigations of di-