- Email: [email protected]
The Therapy of Pain. Edited by Swerdlow M Published by MTP Press Ltd Pp.250; illustrated; indexed Price£16.95
370 The Therapy of Pain. Edited by M Swerdlow Published by ,MTPPress Ltd Pp.250; illustrated; indexed Pnce£16.95
Spinal Cord Sensation. Edited by A G. Brown and M. Rethelyi. Published (1981) by Scottish Academic Press. Pp. 341; illustrated; indexed. Price £15. This book is composed of a scries of papers presented at a Symposium "Sensory Processing in the Dorsal Horn" held in July 1980. The speed with which these proceedings has appeared is a result of using camera-ready techniques and the inevitable loss in printing quality is only really marked in some of the micrographic reproductions. The book as a whole concerns itself with "present day" research activity in three major areas. First, the structural and functional organizations of the dorsal horn itself are described, with a definition of what actually constitutes the dorsal horn. This is followed by a series of papers which illustrates the elegance and sophistication of the use of the technique of filling physiologicallycharacterized isolated fibres or dorsal horn cells with horse-
radish peroxidase to determine their three-dimensional termination zones or their three-dimensional occupancy respectively, or of using the retrograde transport of horse-radish peroxidase injected into fibres projecting outside the spinal cord to determine the site of origin and type of their cells of origin. Second, the current concepts on the pharmacology of the dorsal horn are presented. Of particular interest to the anaesthetist are the papers relating to the control of transmission in nerve fibres carrying potentially noxious information into the central nervous system and the present evidence attempting to unravel the pharmacology of this control. Last, there is a small collection of papers relating to plasticity in the spinal cord. In common with most proceedings of Symposia the papers range from the readily comprehensible to the almost incomprehensible and from the verbose to the telegraphic However, the book does present, overall, a clear picture of the present research effort and some indications of future activity in spinal cord physiology and pharmacology and does contain a large number of key references to enable those who wish to explore this field to do so, and its low price should not deter many potential readers A. Angel
Chemical Diagnosis of Disease Edited by S. S Brown, F. L. Mitchell and D. S Young Published (1979) by Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam. Pp. 1384, illustrated, indexed. Price £74.75. The object of this book is to provide an authoritative text on the interpretation of tests used in clinical chemistry. The editors, who are from Northwick Park Hospital in England and the Mayo Clinic, have assembled a glittering list of contributors to achieve this aim Some of the world authorities include Siggaard-Andersen on hydrogen ions and blood-gases, Hales on glucose metabolism, Sandier on neurogenic amines, Lewis on lipids and Mclntyre on calcium and magnesium It is not surprising, therefore, that the overall standard is very high, but the book is flawed by the long delay between the completion of the chapters and publication The references for many chapters cease in 1976 and several authors have added plaintive addenda briefly mentioning important advances since that date The result of this long gestation period is that the content of several chapters is already becoming out of date If used selectively, this book will provide an excellent review of metabolic problems which the anaesthetist may encounter both clinically and experimentally. For example, perusal of the masterly chapter on liver function by Jones and Berk will enable the anaesthetist to appraise critically published studies on the effects of anaesthetic agents on hepatic metabolism One of the Editors, Professor Young from the Mayo Clinic, has contributed a fascinating chapter on biological variability This includes the effect of diet, climate, exercise, noise, blindness, coughing and even caffeine and alcohol (particularly relevant for anaesthetists) on the concentration of the constituents of body fluids. The book contains few errors, has a good mdex and is attractively presented Every anaesthetic department should have a copy and use it. G. M. Hall
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on September 1, 2015
This is a welcome addition to the Current Status of Modern Therapy series and illustrates the need for "updates" on pain therapy rather than the large volume which may be out of date in 2 years. Pain is a rapidly developing specialty and Mark Swerdlow has collected a number of authors who have each contributed widely m the field The neurological aspects of pain therapy are clearly and concisely laid out by Dr Wyke and it is a pleasure to realize how much psychiatrists can contribute if they become interested. In the U.S A. it may be true that a multi-disciplinary team is a permanent feature of pain centres, but in this country one could submit that it was unwieldy, time-consuming and not cost-effective in terms of salaries. Dr Lipton is undoubtedly setting his sights high in his theory on the management of the pain centre, but temporary involvement with other specialties may be an equally effective solution. Nerve blocking, as is known, plays an enormous part in the control of chronic pain The author of this chapter may be forgiven for accentuating the dangers of intrathecal phenol and indeed neurolytic blocks in general, but it should not be forgotten that, in skilled hands, the technique has brought relief to countless sufferers and thoroughly justifies its place in the armamentarium. From the second neurosurgical contributor comes a very comprehensive survey of a neurosurgical contribution and it is formidable indeed One could almost feel after reading this that it was negligent to be allowed to suffer pain. Cancer pain and terminal pain have qualified for separate chapters in this book. Whilst no-one denies that cancer pain is the most distressing and demoralizing, it is generally well managed in this country and compared with chronic back pain, the specific treatment of which is hardly mentioned in this edition, is relatively easy to control. Despite these minor criticisms, this is an excellent book and should find its way into the libraries of all those interested in this subject J. W. Lloyd
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA
Spinal Cord Sensation. Edited by A G. Brown and M. Rethelyi. Published (1981) by Scottish Academic Press. Pp. 341; illustrated; indexed. Price £15. This book is composed of a scries of papers presented at a Symposium "Sensory Processing in the Dorsal Horn" held in July 1980. The speed with which these proceedings has appeared is a result of using camera-ready techniques and the inevitable loss in printing quality is only really marked in some of the micrographic reproductions. The book as a whole concerns itself with "present day" research activity in three major areas. First, the structural and functional organizations of the dorsal horn itself are described, with a definition of what actually constitutes the dorsal horn. This is followed by a series of papers which illustrates the elegance and sophistication of the use of the technique of filling physiologicallycharacterized isolated fibres or dorsal horn cells with horse-
radish peroxidase to determine their three-dimensional termination zones or their three-dimensional occupancy respectively, or of using the retrograde transport of horse-radish peroxidase injected into fibres projecting outside the spinal cord to determine the site of origin and type of their cells of origin. Second, the current concepts on the pharmacology of the dorsal horn are presented. Of particular interest to the anaesthetist are the papers relating to the control of transmission in nerve fibres carrying potentially noxious information into the central nervous system and the present evidence attempting to unravel the pharmacology of this control. Last, there is a small collection of papers relating to plasticity in the spinal cord. In common with most proceedings of Symposia the papers range from the readily comprehensible to the almost incomprehensible and from the verbose to the telegraphic However, the book does present, overall, a clear picture of the present research effort and some indications of future activity in spinal cord physiology and pharmacology and does contain a large number of key references to enable those who wish to explore this field to do so, and its low price should not deter many potential readers A. Angel
Chemical Diagnosis of Disease Edited by S. S Brown, F. L. Mitchell and D. S Young Published (1979) by Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam. Pp. 1384, illustrated, indexed. Price £74.75. The object of this book is to provide an authoritative text on the interpretation of tests used in clinical chemistry. The editors, who are from Northwick Park Hospital in England and the Mayo Clinic, have assembled a glittering list of contributors to achieve this aim Some of the world authorities include Siggaard-Andersen on hydrogen ions and blood-gases, Hales on glucose metabolism, Sandier on neurogenic amines, Lewis on lipids and Mclntyre on calcium and magnesium It is not surprising, therefore, that the overall standard is very high, but the book is flawed by the long delay between the completion of the chapters and publication The references for many chapters cease in 1976 and several authors have added plaintive addenda briefly mentioning important advances since that date The result of this long gestation period is that the content of several chapters is already becoming out of date If used selectively, this book will provide an excellent review of metabolic problems which the anaesthetist may encounter both clinically and experimentally. For example, perusal of the masterly chapter on liver function by Jones and Berk will enable the anaesthetist to appraise critically published studies on the effects of anaesthetic agents on hepatic metabolism One of the Editors, Professor Young from the Mayo Clinic, has contributed a fascinating chapter on biological variability This includes the effect of diet, climate, exercise, noise, blindness, coughing and even caffeine and alcohol (particularly relevant for anaesthetists) on the concentration of the constituents of body fluids. The book contains few errors, has a good mdex and is attractively presented Every anaesthetic department should have a copy and use it. G. M. Hall
Downloaded from http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on September 1, 2015
This is a welcome addition to the Current Status of Modern Therapy series and illustrates the need for "updates" on pain therapy rather than the large volume which may be out of date in 2 years. Pain is a rapidly developing specialty and Mark Swerdlow has collected a number of authors who have each contributed widely m the field The neurological aspects of pain therapy are clearly and concisely laid out by Dr Wyke and it is a pleasure to realize how much psychiatrists can contribute if they become interested. In the U.S A. it may be true that a multi-disciplinary team is a permanent feature of pain centres, but in this country one could submit that it was unwieldy, time-consuming and not cost-effective in terms of salaries. Dr Lipton is undoubtedly setting his sights high in his theory on the management of the pain centre, but temporary involvement with other specialties may be an equally effective solution. Nerve blocking, as is known, plays an enormous part in the control of chronic pain The author of this chapter may be forgiven for accentuating the dangers of intrathecal phenol and indeed neurolytic blocks in general, but it should not be forgotten that, in skilled hands, the technique has brought relief to countless sufferers and thoroughly justifies its place in the armamentarium. From the second neurosurgical contributor comes a very comprehensive survey of a neurosurgical contribution and it is formidable indeed One could almost feel after reading this that it was negligent to be allowed to suffer pain. Cancer pain and terminal pain have qualified for separate chapters in this book. Whilst no-one denies that cancer pain is the most distressing and demoralizing, it is generally well managed in this country and compared with chronic back pain, the specific treatment of which is hardly mentioned in this edition, is relatively easy to control. Despite these minor criticisms, this is an excellent book and should find its way into the libraries of all those interested in this subject J. W. Lloyd
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA