new online books

n engl j med 351;25 www.nejm.org december 16, 2004
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to say. Hematologists, immunologists, and pathologists
will certainly enjoy it. It is their own personal
history, and they may even know some of the actors
in it. Historians of medicine and their graduate students,
if they are interested in the history of immunology,
will also read it, since they have doubtless
read and admired the authors’ other work. Such
readers should appreciate the link between epistemology
and the practical, the technical, and the clinical
— a connection that the historiography of immunology
has often tended to play down — as well
as the attractive idea of the platform. But subtle and
insightful as the book may be, it will not have many
general readers. Narrative history with a sociological
twist is usually more accessible than this. Of
course, it might attract some readers who are Benedictines
at heart and love the nightly lectio continua.
Pauline M.H. Mazumdar, Ph.D.
Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science
and Technology at the University of Toronto
Toronto, ON M5S 1K7, Canada
pmazumda@chass.utoronto.ca
alzheimer disease:
neuropsychology
and pharmacology
Edited by Gérard Emilien, Cécile Durlach, Kenneth L. Minaker,
Bengt Winblad, Serge Gauthier, and Jean-Marie Maloteaux.
288 pp. Basel, Switzerland, Birkhäuser Verlag, 2004. $129.
ISBN 3-7643-2426-0.
ess than 20 years ago, alzheimer’s disease
was described in epidemiologic studies as
"the silent epidemic." Some 10 years later, the first
risk factors and genetic mutations were reported,
and today the epidemic is no longer silent. Despite
its subtitle of Neuropsychology and Pharmacology, this
book has a broad scope, with excellent chapters on
the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Its 15 chapters are organized into three sections,
which deal with the biologic correlates of Alzheimer’s
disease, neuropsychology, and treatment.
The section on biologic correlates reviews the causes,
pharmacology, and molecular genetics of Alzheimer’s
disease, along with the various animal
models that have been used in studies of the disease.
The section on neuropsychology, the longest
in the book, is a good introduction to memory and
its assessment; the cognitive, behavioral, and psychological
impairment of Alzheimer’s disease; and
functional and behavioral assessment. The section
on treatment, which discusses in detail the various
pharmacologic options, includes a short chapter
on psychological support.
The book is generally up to date and well balanced,
and it is reasonably uniform in style. Although
the authors strike me as being a bit too
optimistic about the possibilities of treatment, I certainly
prefer their tack to the generally nihilistic attitude
that has clouded discussions of this important
disease in the past. The book is a tribute to the
tremendous effort that has been made in the past
decade in the search for the causes and treatment
of this enigmatic disease.
Albert Hofman, M.D., Ph.D.
Erasmus Medical Center
3015 GE Rotterdam, the Netherlands
a.hofman@erasmusmc.nl
the return of the white plague:
global poverty and the ‘new’
tuberculosis
Edited by Matthew Gandy and Alimuddin Zumla. 330 pp.,
illustrated. New York, Verso, 2003. $35. ISBN 1-85984-669-6.
ince the world health organization
declared tuberculosis a global emergency in
1993, its resurgence has become the source of several
recent publications. Gandy and Zumla have assembled
a prestigious and knowledgeable group of
authors for an updated account that appropriately
goes beyond the usual biomedical assessment of
the current global situation. As suggested by the title
and an introductory quotation provided by the
editors, René and Jean Dubos had already drawn
attention to the social and economic aspects of tuberculosis
51 years earlier in The White Plague: Tuberculosis,
Man and Society (Camden, N.J.: Rutgers University
Press, 1952).
There is special emphasis in the book on the social
and economic factors that have influenced the
persistence of tuberculosis in many parts of the
world. Unfortunately, as the editors acknowledge,
the limitations of the available data make it "difficult
to disentangle fully the relationship" and
interactions among socioeconomic status, racial
differences, sex, wars, the pandemic of human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) infection, multidrugresistant
tuberculosis, and transmission of the disl
s
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The new england journal of medicine
2666 n engl j med 351;25 www.nejm.org december 16, 2004
ease in prisons. The reviews of these topics are fairly
balanced and thorough, with appropriate citations
and references.
The broad overview of the book challenges the
prevailing notion that the global efforts to control
tuberculosis and the attribution of credit to directly
observed therapy have been the principal contributors
to the reduction of tuberculosis in New York
City and other places. In putting forth this challenge,
the authors may provoke controversy. Ultimately,
it becomes clear that both causal inference
about and potential solutions to the problem of tuberculosis
involve many factors. Some of the chapters
outline the unmet humanitarian needs of persons
with tuberculosis that involve race and ethnic
background, "gender-sensitive" approaches to care,
and immigration from countries where tuberculosis
is prevalent. Instead of blindly siding with the
good intentions that accompany much-needed reforms
in the health sector, authors Harries, Hargreaves,
and Zumla, who contribute a chapter on
tuberculosis and HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa,
acknowledge the potentially drastic consequences
of the "rapid dismantling of disease control programmes."
Other formidable challenges posed by HIV and
multiple-drug resistance are adequately covered, as
are potential solutions that emphasize the need to
pay attention to neglected areas such as the primary
prevention of tuberculosis. Authors also emphasize
the importance of operational interdisciplinary research
and the need for new drugs and safe and effective
vaccines.
The call for the alleviation of poverty and the
promotion of ethical and human rights is refreshing,
and it is consistent with the control of tuberculosis
in high-burden countries as integral to economic
development. Both the editors and the
chapter authors appropriately identify the need to
go increasingly beyond humanitarian declarations
into action and implementation. Doing so is a crucial
component of a comprehensive and responsive
approach to the global crisis of tuberculosis. The
Return of the White Plague is a commendable treatise
of much interest to socially minded health care practitioners.
Kenneth G. Castro, M.D.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA 30333
kgc1@cdc.gov
Book Reviews Copyright © 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society.
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Notices also appear on the Journal’s Web site
(www.nejm.org/meetings). The listings can be viewed in
their entirety or searched by location, month, or key word.
call for nominations
The International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine is
accepting nominations for its "ISSLS Wiltse Lifetime Achievement
Award," which awards exceptional achievement in the spinal
field. The award is sponsored by the Styker Corporation and
will be awarded at the annual meeting of the International Society
for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, to be held in New York, May
10–14. Deadline for submission is Feb. 1.
Contact International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine,
Sunnybrook and Women’s Health Science Centre, Room MG 323,
2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada; or call (416)
480-4833; or fax (416) 480-6055; or e-mail shirley.fitzgerald@
sw.ca.
4th annual southwest cardiology symposium
The symposium will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 11–13. It is
jointly presented by the University of British Columbia and the
Cardiovascular Society of Arizona.
Contact Hazel Wilcox, The Cardiovascular Society of Arizona,
1331 N. 7th St., Suite 375, Phoenix, AZ 85006; or call (604) 875-
5787; or see http://www.cardiovascularsocietyofaz.org; or e-mail
hwilcox@vanhosp.bc.ca.
arora board review
The following courses will be offered: "Weekly Course in Internal
Medicine" (Livingston, N.J., Sundays, Feb. 13–June 5); "Unusual
Board Review in Internal Medicine" (East Rutherford, N.J.,
June 13–18); and "Crash Course in Internal Medicine" (East Rutherford,
N.J., Aug. 13 and 14).
Contact Dr. R.K. Arora, 389 E. Mount Pleasant Ave., Livingston,
NJ 07039; or call (973) 673-4410; or fax (973) 673-2850; or see http://
www.aroraboardreview.com; or e-mail boardreview@comcast.net.
3rd international symposium on targeted
anticancer therapies
The symposium will be held in Amsterdam, March 3–5. It is
jointly organized by the NDDO Research Foundation and the European
Society of Medical Oncology.
Contact Convenience Conference Management, P.O. Box 77,
3480 DB Harmelen, the Netherlands; or call (31) 348-567667; or fax
(31) 348-446057; or e-mail congress@nddo.org; or see http://www.
nddo.org.
cleveland clinic florida
The following meetings will be held in Naples, Fla., unless otherwise
indicated: "4th Annual Essentials in Colorectal Diseases:
A Course for the Practicing Physician" (Jan. 8 and 9); "16th Annual
International Colorectal Disease Symposium" (Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., Feb. 17–19); "4th Annual Surgery of the Foregut Symposium"
(Coral Gables, Fla., Feb. 21–23); and "ENT Disorders
for the Primary Care Practitioner" (March 19).
Contact Cleveland Clinic Florida, 6101 Pine Ridge Rd., Naples, FL
34119; or call (877) 675-7223, extension 4366 (national) or (239)
348-4366 (Florida); or fax (239) 348-4287; or e-mail cme@ccf.org;
or see http://www.clevelandclinicflorida.org.
notices
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