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Book Review Supplement

TIPS - February 1983

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1 Horse sense Drugs and the Performance Horse

by Thomas Tobin, Charles C. Thomas, 1981. $44.75 (xvi + 463 pages) ISBN 0 398 0446 5

This is a book which concerns problems associated with drug use in racing horses. Professor Tobin discusses the veterinary medical, pharmacological, analytical, chemical, legal and business aspects of this very complex social issue. The book is divided into five major sections: historical and introductory chapters; drugs of control- led medication; illegal drugs; drugs em- ployed in therapy of medical problems and the control of medication in performance horses.

The objective of the author was to pro- vide information which will allow the reader to gain a more accurate perspective concerning use of drugs in equine athletes. He accomplished this goal by discussing the effects of various drugs on the horse, pharmacokinetic considerations and condi- tions of use. Thus, one can separate drugs which are employed as part of rational vet- erinary therapy from those that are em- ployed in an effort to change the outcome of a race. Additionally, the book addresses the difficult questions surrounding drug detec- tion and the determination of policies for regulation of drug abuse associated with athletic contests. Overall, Professor Tobin has done a good job of collating informa- tion from the scientific literature and syn- thesizing it into a comprehensive treatise.

You didn't say give it to the horse

Although the book was written for the • horseman, it should be of interest to prac-

ticing veterinarians, comparative phar- macologists and people grappling with the establishment of policy regarding permiss- ible use of drugs in racing horses.

The book has an attractive format and is well-illustrated. The quality of paper, bind- ing and printing is very good. There are very few typographical errors and

each chapter is well-documented by a comprehensive list of references. This book should be a useful addition to the library of anyone concerned with equine p .harmacology.

LLOYD E. DAVIS

The author is Professor o f Vetermary Clintcal Medzctne and Pharmacology at the University o f lllinots, Urbana, 1L, U.S.A.

Cancer therapy Recent Results in Cancer Research, Cancer Chemo- and Immuno-pharmacology, Vol. 1 Chemopharmacology, and Vol. 2 lmmunopharmacology, Relations and General Problems

edited by G. Mathe and F. M. Muggia, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York, 1980. Vol. 1 cloth DM 112.00; approx. US$66.10 (xiii + 315 pages) ISBN 3 54010162 4. Vol. 2 cloth DM 98.00; approx. US$57.90 (xi + 260 pages) ISBN 3 540 10163 2

Despite radical attempts to remove malig- nant tumours using surgery and radio- therapy some residual cells always remain and the tumour invariably ultimately recurs. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy have had a major role in the removal of

these residual cells and in recent years there has been a lot of interest in methods which finely tune these modalities to improve their selectivity and limit their toxicity.

It would seem to be with this hope in mind that the EORTC held an Annual Ple- nary session on Cancer Chemo- and Immuno-pharmacology in 1979. The pro- ceedings from this symposium consist of 78 short papers divided into two volumes, one concerned with chemopharmacology and the other with immunopharmacology. Within these volumes there are several short review papers and specific research reports.

The first volume covers the whole spec- trum of cancer chemotherapy describing the straightforward phase I and II trials of drugs, re-evaluating older, more traditional drugs and exploring new aspects of cancer chemotherapy. Also included are some

papers on chemosensitivity testing in vitro, a topic likely to be of increasing importance in the years to come.

The second volume is concerned with immunotherapy and again covers a wide range of topics. However, it is generally apparent from the text that the approach to specific immunotherapy through the eluci- dation of tumour specific antigens has been to some extent superseded by interest in the so-called 'biological-response modifiers'. These agents, which are putative enhancers of the general level of immune competence in cancer patients, comprise a diverse group of chemical and biological entities ranging from complex thymic factors, bacterial and fungal extracts and interferons, to relatively simple chemical structures such as levamisole and azimexon. All these agents, together with a host of others are discussed in some detail in a number of the papers, but

TIPS - February 1983

overall there is no clear consensus as to their mode of action or efficacy. Also covered by several papers is the targeting of cytotoxic drugs using specific antibodies or other carders. This area of research is becoming important where chemotherapy and immunotherapy overlap.

Like most symposia, the standard of the papers is variable, with some very credit- able papers and others of poorer quality. Some of the short reviews are very good, but their brevity has in some cases limited

their usefulness. My main criticism would be that the papers are dated, which one would expect of a symposium held in 1979, and are strung together in a haphazard way. It would have been more helpful for the book to have been divided up into specific sections, prefaced by a key note review. 1 also found that the most interesting aspects of new treatments were often only hinted at while much space was devoted to data on conventional phase I and II trials- informa- tion which I felt was a little out of place in a

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symposium of this kind. Despite these criticisms this book gives a

'glimpse of what is to come and for this reason is valuable. 1 am certain that most laboratory workers and clinicians interested in cancer treatment will find something of use, although they may have to dig for it.

J. L. DARLING

The author is Research Fellow at the lnstttute of Neurology, London, U K.

Vasodilators raise blood pressure Vasodilatation

edited by Paul M. Vanhoutte and Isadore Leusen, Raven Press, 1981. $67.20 (xvi + 536pages) ISBN 0 89004 602 6

This book is rather like a lot picked up at an auction. When you get home you select what you want (usually, as here, only a few items) and throw the rest away. There are, to change the metaphor, a few cardiovascu- lar gems here among a heap of rather ord- inary and small pebbles. It is yet another hefty volume (over 500 pages) based on a symposium. This one was held in July 1980 as an official satellite meeting of the 28th International Congress of Physiological Sciences.

The book consists of 47 shortish (mostly 4-12 page) mini-reviews on a variety of topics somewhat related to the general theme of vasodilatation. Some ground is covered more than once from a variety of view points; other areas are very sparsely and inadequately covered (e.g. coronary vasodilatation). It is a very multi-authored volume (about 100 contributors) of vari- able quality. The coverage is broad and many of the chapters are too brief to be of real value. This is not presumably the fault of the authors, many of whom are eminent in their respective fields, but to the highly infectious disease among publishers and symposium organizers of manuscrip- tomania, which is reaching epidemic pro- portions. There is an insistence on each invited speaker providing a manuscript of set length as a passport to attending the meeting; 'have manuscript, can travel'. Presumably such conference proceedings do sell (who to?) but, in general, they make poor reading. This present volume is typi- cal of many such but has not been helped by the way the chapters have apparently been thrown together. For example, a chapter on the cerebral circulation is followed by a debate on ischaemic vasodilatation and constriction, then by a discussion of the possible role of ATP as a regulator of f low

(a good chapter this) and then switches back to the cerebral circulation. It reminds me of the 'jumbled up newspaper game' in which the participants have to put the pages back in the right order. The participants here (the editors) haven't really succeeded.

High marks to the publishers for a well produced book but 1 think they have really missed an opportunity. There is a need for a well-planned book on this subject. One of

the editors, in collaboration with Professor Shepherd, has two quite excellent books to his credit. Perhaps Raven Press could per- suade them to tackle this subject together.

J R. PARRATI"

The author is a Professor tn the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the Umversuy of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K

Uphill immunology Immunology

edited by Jean-Franfois Bach, John Wiley & Sons 1982. £52.00 (xviii + lO14pages) ISBN 0 471 08044 6

This is an immunology text of excellent provenance. Its several contributing authors hail from various Instituts pasteur and other centres of immunological excel- lence throughout France. As would be expected of the heirs of Pasteur, they know their immunology; as would also be expected, they wrote about it in French. However, all 1014 pages have been kindly translated into English. Both the compila- tion and the translation must have amounted to very substantial tasks. The question must he whether the latter of the two activities has been justified. A fore, word, by an American, suggests that this version is the general text and will meet a demand at present satisfied only by combi- nation of two or more of the available vol- umes written in English. Moreover, it is recommended for a wide range of medical specialists and scientists, postgraduate stu- dents and even beginners. This reviewer has reservations ~aout each of these points of view, particularly about the book's suita- bility for students. Whether or not it is suit- able for pharmacologists is yet another question!

Undoubtedly, the scientific content of this book is good and it provides a very sub- stantial store of immunological knowledge. Its approach appears to be conservative, stronger on the fundamentals than the applications. It is better on immunological

cytology, genetics and immune, chemistry, than on immunopathology; the latter is decidedly less exciting. From the scientist's point of view its defect, a serious one in a work of this magnitude, is the lack of direct documentation of its facts and ideas. Each chapter has its bibliography, not, however, directly referenced. The result is that the reader may frequently be confronted by unfamiliar information and left wondering 'who on earth said that?'

All pharmacologists should have kindred feelings for immunology, this sister- science. We have co-founders, Paul Ehrtich and Henry Dale, as well as Louis Pasteur. Antigen-antibody complexes, especially if cell-bound, are surely analog- ous to drug/receptor interactions. Many pharmacologists are concerned with inves- tigations of immune-based disease sys- tems. Pharmacologists in search of immunology may find this work valuable. It is a pity that we shall find it such a very heavy read.

This volume actually includes some pharmacology. Like us, immunologists are versatile beings, making use of any science which may shed light on their particular problems. There is a chapter entitled 'Immunomanipulation', dealing with both the potentiation and suppression of immune reactivity by supplementary treatments, e.g. with drugs. The number of immuno- suppressants considered is limited and the presentation concentrates upon their effects on particular immune-cell types. Medical applications are discussed but the point that immunosuppression is a potentially harm- ful effect exerted by cytotoxic drugs gener- ally, appears to have been missed. Modes