Book Reviews 823

and its antigens; T-lymphotropic viruses; hepatitis B anti- gen; murine and feline retrovirus; influenza; Retrovirus, proto-oncogenes and breast cancer; melanoma); and (5) blood and serum (ABO, Hh, Secretor and Lewis systems; Ii and P; MN% and Gerbich; Rh; complement genetics). This is an excellent reference and text book.

Molecular Genetics of Diseases of Brain, Nerve and Muscle- Edited by L. P. ROWLAND, D. S. WOOD, E. A. SCHON and S. DIMAURO. 481 pp. 1989. Oxford University Press, New York. $55.

This very interesting volume will help provide a link between biochemists, physiologists and clinicians working on nerve, muscle and brain. Many different diseases, such as the muscular dystrophies (Duchenne, myotonic, Emery- Dreifuss), familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, alpha glucosidase deficiency, X-linked spinal muscular atrophy; and diseases such as Huntington’s. Tay-Sachs, Alzheimers, Lesch-Nyhan. PKU, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, have a genetic basis. The use of molecular genetics, restriction enzymes, blots, RFLPs DNA probes, library screening and gene replace- ment therapy. are all described in this book together with their possible application in the study of the above-mentioned diseases. This book will help you get up-to-date.

The Brain as an Endocrine Organ-Edited by M. P. COHEN and P. P. FOA. 269 pp. 1989. Springer, New York. $59.50.

The main topics discussed in this volume are: gonadotropin- releasing hormones; corticotropin-releasing factors; anorexia nervosa; the pineal and its indole products; neuropeptides and glucose metabolism; feedback regulation of growth hormone secretion; brain adenosine and purinergic modu- lation of CNS excitability. The book is the third volume in a series on progress in research and clinical practice in endocrinology and metabolism.

The Human Brain-By PAUL GLEES. 204 pp. 1988. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. $59.50.

This book provides a useful and readable summary of the development, structure and function of the human brain. It goes through the evolution; fine structure; electrical activity; glia, cerebral blood flow and metabolism; CSF; cerebral hemispheres; spinal cord; brain stem and cerebellum; hypo- thalamus and ANS; olfaction and taste; auditory system; vision and visual pathway; touch, pain and proprioception. It is well illustrated and the information is clearly presented. It gives the essential information so that the reader is not overwhelmed with unnecessary details and thousands of names. The author’s enthusiasm for his subject also comes through.

Thermoregutation: Research and Clinical Applications Edited by P. LOMAX and E. SCHONBAUM. 250 pp. 1989. Karger, Basel. SFr. 159; DM 190; $106.

This volume is based on the 7th Symposium on the Pharmacology of Thermoregulation. The 26 papers are grouped in sections on clinical disorders; anaesthesia and body temperature; drugs and thermoregulation; fever; neurotransmitters and peptides; and 38 poster presen- tations. There is a useful cumulative bibliography of 550 references. Points of interest are that potassium is important in rewarming after severe hypothermia; loose shoe laces reduces the incidence of frost bite to the feet; REM sleep

increases as the room temperature increases from 20 to 30°C; theophylline can increase body temperature during cold exposure; use of antisera against IL- I indicates that an endogenous pyrogen is involved in the genesis of fever but not in stress-induced hyperthermia.

Pulmonary Vascular Physiology and Pathophysiology- Edited by E. K. WEIR and J. T. REEVES. 762 pp. 1989. Marcel Dekker, New York. $125, USA and Canada; $150, elsewhere.

There is an initial chapter on the phylogeny of the control of pulmonary circulation (PC) through fish, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals; then fetal and neonatal PC; pressure and flow through PC; PC during exercise; PC during pregnancy; hyperbaric effect and high altitude pul- monary edema; diving and PC; acute hypoxia; autonomic control; right ventricular function; pathophysiology; per- sistent pulmonary hypertension in new born; lung injury: pulmonary embolism; chronic high flow states; primary pulmonary hypertension; control of cell proliferation; poly- morphonuclear cells and the pulmonary endothelium; endothelium and smooth muscle. The different forms of pulmonary hypertension, whether primary, thrombo- embolic, persistant in the new born, or secondary due to obstructive lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, left-to-right cardiac shunts, or high left filling pressure, are seldom restored to healthy initial state by current treatments. Vasodilators, oxygen and anticoagulants are palliative rather than curative. More research on lung tissue and cellular reactions should provide better understanding and treatments.

Ectopic Pregnancy: Pathophysiology and Clinical Manage- ment-Edited by C. M. FREDERICKS, J. D. PAULSON and G. HOLTZ. 231 pp. 1989. Taylor and Francis, Basingstoke. E42.

In the USA, ectopic pregnancy occurs in I4 per thousand pregnancies. In 1983 70,000 cases were reported at a hospital cost of more than $150 million. It is currently the most common cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester and second only to toxemia as a cause of pregnancy-related death. The chapters in this book summarize the diagnosis (human chorionic gonadotropin assays, steroid hormones, protein markers, ultrasound, laparoscopy), treatment and management of ectopic pregnancy.

The Neural Crest-By B. K. HALL and S. HORSTADIUS. 303 pp. 1989. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 560.

This is two books in one. It contains a reprint of Horstadius’ book The Neural Crest; irs Properties and Derivatives in the Light qf Experimental Research (I 950), on pp. 129-24 I. The first part of the book (pp 3-124) is an extensive review of the background and new developments that have taken place since 1950. Neural crest can give rise to pigment cells, dorsal ganglia, sympathetic and parasympathic ganglia, part of the cranial mesenchyme and cranial skeleton, and via epigenetic cascade, the odontoblasts. It also functions as an inhibitor in the development of the heart, kidney, and lens of the eye via diffusible inhibitory factors. The reader is given up-to-date information on the neural crest in amphib- ians and other vertebrates (cyclostomes, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals); the migration of neural crest; differentiation of neural crest; neurocristopathies (tumours, Von Recklin- hausen neurofibromatosis, APUDomas, cardiac defects); and embryonic defects (vitamin A crania-defects, mutations, species specificity, regulation). It is a fascinating story that has much still to come in future years.