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Thrombosis
139
who has become a manageable patient. So, one appreciates why almost half of the book deals with this area in detail. Although the aim of this work could not have been to cover the whole area of obstetrics and gynecology, there are some current topics that we may well miss in this volume, such as pelvic infections and antimicrobial chemotherapy; detailed descriptions of breast diseases (especially, the early detection of breast cancer); menstrual and other sex-related disorders during puberty. All chapters are sufficiently detailed for the experienced obstetriciangynecologist. Most chapters also provide background information on the respective fields. However, some contributors only discuss advances in these fields, assuming that the reader is familiar with basic knowledge on the relevant areas. A book with so much information can not escape having a few arguments or statements that invite dispute or that seem insupportable, e.g. that rauwolfin is the most recommended drug in the management of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, and that there is no evidence to suggest physiological or pharmacological differences in action between natural and synthetic estrogen. The monitoring of high fetal risk pregnancies is inadequately described, as the book fails to deal in detail with non-stressed cardiotocography, the oxytocin challenge test, and fetal movement counting, which are important approaches in the management of these conditions. We also miss mention of estriol as a drug in the treatment of postmenopausal women; estriol has a place, if not a key role, in the therapeutic regime of postmenopausal patients. In summary, Drs. Caplan and Sweeney edited a book well-worth purchasing. The contributors, eminent in their respective fields, have written with considerable authority. The wealth of material in this well-illustrated volume means that it should be found on every library shelf. I. Rakoczi,
Budapest
Thrombosis D. Thomas (ed.) British Medical Bulletin, London, 1978, Vol. 34, No. 2 (112 PP.) (UK) fi. 5.00; (other countries) E 6.00; (USA and Canada) $12.50 The issue on thrombosis complements the previous issue ‘Hemostasis’ (Vol. 33, No. 3). It is based on Macfarlane’s expression that thrombosis is find chapters like ‘hemostasis in the wrong place’. One can therefore ‘Surface-mediated reactions in the formation of thrombin, plasmin and callicrein ‘, ‘Unstable metabolites of arachidonic acid and their role in hemostasis and thrombosis’, ‘Thrombus formation and artificial surfaces’, besides the expected chapters on clinical thrombosis, diagnosis and treatment. The issue is thoroughly written, and has the typical British touch, which means that English papers are properly cited, almost to the exclusion of others, including the American literature.
140
The book seems a balanced minded. The price is acceptable.
source
for the clinician
and the research-
F.K. Beller, Miinster
Hormones and Brain Development Series: Developments in Endocrinology, G. Dormer and M. Kawami (eds.)
Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Oxford, 1978 (473 + xiii pp., 147 Figs., 63 Tables) Dfl. 44.00; US $64.00
Vol. 3 Press,
Amsterdam-New
York-
This book contains the proceedings of a symposium organized by the Society for Endocrinology and Metabolic Disorders of the German Democratic Republic in cooperation with the Endocrinological Societies of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the International Society of Neuroendocrinology. The symposium was held in Berlin/GDR on September 6-8, 1978, and publication has been achieved with minimal delay by use of camera-ready procedure. The book is a compilation of 58 contributions arranged more or less artificially in 4 chapters: Hormones and sex-related brain differentiation; Hormones and brain differentiation unrelated to sex; Hormones and brain maturation; Hormones and brain function. The area covered is extremely large, and includes the influences of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, vasopressin, oxytocin, glucocorticoids, neurotransmitters, psychotropic drugs, maternal diabetes and electrical stimulation of the brain on gonadotropin secretion and fertility, behavior and liver metabolism in the human and in other species. Some contributions present mainly ‘theoretical considerations’ or ‘thoughts’; others are concerned with hard facts. The quality both of the content and the presentation of the different papers is extremely variable. Discussions are not included, and no attempt has been made by the chairmen or the editors to provide some kind of general discussion or conclusions after each series of papers. Without any doubt this has speeded up publication and, for those who attended the meeting, this book is undoubtedly a valuable working document. For the outsider these contributions look like the first pieces in a very complicated puzzle. At least one thing is evident from these first pieces: brain differentiation is influenced by a variety of hormones, humoral factors and drugs. When given in an inappropriate dose or at an inappropriate time these substances may cause irreversible damage to the developing brain and to the organism as a whole. As long as we do not understand the exact interrelationships between differentiation and its organizers, extreme caution is warranted whenever we treat a pregnant women or a developing child with non-physiologic substances or with aberrant amounts of physiologic substances. If this book helps us to keep this point in mind, it probably serves the most important purpose that can be attained at the present time. G. Verhoeven, Louvain
who has become a manageable patient. So, one appreciates why almost half of the book deals with this area in detail. Although the aim of this work could not have been to cover the whole area of obstetrics and gynecology, there are some current topics that we may well miss in this volume, such as pelvic infections and antimicrobial chemotherapy; detailed descriptions of breast diseases (especially, the early detection of breast cancer); menstrual and other sex-related disorders during puberty. All chapters are sufficiently detailed for the experienced obstetriciangynecologist. Most chapters also provide background information on the respective fields. However, some contributors only discuss advances in these fields, assuming that the reader is familiar with basic knowledge on the relevant areas. A book with so much information can not escape having a few arguments or statements that invite dispute or that seem insupportable, e.g. that rauwolfin is the most recommended drug in the management of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, and that there is no evidence to suggest physiological or pharmacological differences in action between natural and synthetic estrogen. The monitoring of high fetal risk pregnancies is inadequately described, as the book fails to deal in detail with non-stressed cardiotocography, the oxytocin challenge test, and fetal movement counting, which are important approaches in the management of these conditions. We also miss mention of estriol as a drug in the treatment of postmenopausal women; estriol has a place, if not a key role, in the therapeutic regime of postmenopausal patients. In summary, Drs. Caplan and Sweeney edited a book well-worth purchasing. The contributors, eminent in their respective fields, have written with considerable authority. The wealth of material in this well-illustrated volume means that it should be found on every library shelf. I. Rakoczi,
Budapest
Thrombosis D. Thomas (ed.) British Medical Bulletin, London, 1978, Vol. 34, No. 2 (112 PP.) (UK) fi. 5.00; (other countries) E 6.00; (USA and Canada) $12.50 The issue on thrombosis complements the previous issue ‘Hemostasis’ (Vol. 33, No. 3). It is based on Macfarlane’s expression that thrombosis is find chapters like ‘hemostasis in the wrong place’. One can therefore ‘Surface-mediated reactions in the formation of thrombin, plasmin and callicrein ‘, ‘Unstable metabolites of arachidonic acid and their role in hemostasis and thrombosis’, ‘Thrombus formation and artificial surfaces’, besides the expected chapters on clinical thrombosis, diagnosis and treatment. The issue is thoroughly written, and has the typical British touch, which means that English papers are properly cited, almost to the exclusion of others, including the American literature.
140
The book seems a balanced minded. The price is acceptable.
source
for the clinician
and the research-
F.K. Beller, Miinster
Hormones and Brain Development Series: Developments in Endocrinology, G. Dormer and M. Kawami (eds.)
Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Oxford, 1978 (473 + xiii pp., 147 Figs., 63 Tables) Dfl. 44.00; US $64.00
Vol. 3 Press,
Amsterdam-New
York-
This book contains the proceedings of a symposium organized by the Society for Endocrinology and Metabolic Disorders of the German Democratic Republic in cooperation with the Endocrinological Societies of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the International Society of Neuroendocrinology. The symposium was held in Berlin/GDR on September 6-8, 1978, and publication has been achieved with minimal delay by use of camera-ready procedure. The book is a compilation of 58 contributions arranged more or less artificially in 4 chapters: Hormones and sex-related brain differentiation; Hormones and brain differentiation unrelated to sex; Hormones and brain maturation; Hormones and brain function. The area covered is extremely large, and includes the influences of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, vasopressin, oxytocin, glucocorticoids, neurotransmitters, psychotropic drugs, maternal diabetes and electrical stimulation of the brain on gonadotropin secretion and fertility, behavior and liver metabolism in the human and in other species. Some contributions present mainly ‘theoretical considerations’ or ‘thoughts’; others are concerned with hard facts. The quality both of the content and the presentation of the different papers is extremely variable. Discussions are not included, and no attempt has been made by the chairmen or the editors to provide some kind of general discussion or conclusions after each series of papers. Without any doubt this has speeded up publication and, for those who attended the meeting, this book is undoubtedly a valuable working document. For the outsider these contributions look like the first pieces in a very complicated puzzle. At least one thing is evident from these first pieces: brain differentiation is influenced by a variety of hormones, humoral factors and drugs. When given in an inappropriate dose or at an inappropriate time these substances may cause irreversible damage to the developing brain and to the organism as a whole. As long as we do not understand the exact interrelationships between differentiation and its organizers, extreme caution is warranted whenever we treat a pregnant women or a developing child with non-physiologic substances or with aberrant amounts of physiologic substances. If this book helps us to keep this point in mind, it probably serves the most important purpose that can be attained at the present time. G. Verhoeven, Louvain