Volume 12 Number 6 June, t985

Book reviews 1127

were post-1976 indicates that the authors made a fair attempt collectively to present data that is rep- resentative of today's status.

The contributions to volume 2 can be roughly grouped into related segments to make possible comment on the general content, since over forty papers represent a formidable group to cover in detail and since selecting individual papers for evaluation would be unfair.

Six papers deal with acne-related subjects, such as comedolytic agents, modulation of sebaceous gland function, and anti-acne retinoids. Collec- tively these papers provide a fair review of the models but provide minimum data in support of assay validation. Two papers deal with bacterial flora and invasion of skin. I was pleased to find these contributions, for this is an area of skin study that has been in much need of support and atten- tion. In addition, it is one that is particularly com- plicated and prone to much misleading interpre- tation. This state of affairs is highlighted by the remark of the author of one of these papers:

All of these models are just that--models. As such they are fraught with the uncertainties inherent with the model development as to the clinical significance of the data generated.

The second of the bacteriologic papers deals with both antibacterial efficacy and the repair of the compromised skin. I found these papers useful for their review content as well as the practical description of technics.

Eleven papers are devoted to the associated sub- jects of irritants and sensitization. Collectively they serve to illustrate the problems presented to all those who have the need to rank irritancy levels of drugs and vehicle components and to determine their specific allergenic potential. This is an area of high predictive dependence on both animal spe- cies and operator skill in evaluation. The publi- cations should provide a valuable reference to those routinely employed in this study area. Five papers concerned with steroids and their adverse skin effects provide some update in an already heavily crowded field.

Four contributions are devoted to the study of antiproliferative and antipsoriasis drugs. These are a welcome addition and in my judgment, share

with the anti-infective papers in making this vol- ume of real value in the therapeutic arena. Pso- riasis is being given more attention recently, for this intractable disease with its elusive etiology shares some common manifestations with several other abnormal conditions of the skin. There is particular need in this area for advances in model development and dermatopharmacology, making this field one that offers high reward potential.

The rerc¢inder of the contributions to this vol- ume provide updates on the advances made in areas dealing with sunscreens, phototoxicity, and depigmentation. Additionally, animal, in vitro, and mathematical models for percutaneous pene- tration are given further review and assessment.

This book has its down side as does its com- panion volume 1, and I do not wish to either dwell on the point nor ignore it, for the objective is always that we should strive in science for higher quality. I refer in particular to an occasion, when cross-checking a reference to an anticle in the fore- runner of this volume published a decade ago (An- imal Models in Dermatology, Churchill Living- stone, 1975), I found myself reading the same words and paragraphs as I had just read in this current publication. Nothing is gained by such meaningless repetition where only a slight shuffle of references with minor addition has been made, and furthermore this effort is of very little value to science.

Despite the foregoing comments, I would judge the book of value for both reference and technical detail to those engaged in topical drug product development and efficacy evaluation.

Peter J. Ayres, Ph.D., Norwich, iVY

Dermatologic immunology and allergy Julius Stone, M.D., editor, St. Louis, 1985, The C. V. Mosby Co, 996 pages. $89.95.

In his preface, Dr. Stone explains that this vol- ume is the second of two major projects he set for himself in 1972. The first project, development of a new dermatologic society for the understanding of immunologic events in the skin, came to fruition with the formation of the American Dermatologic Society for Allergy and Immunology in 1973. The second of his objectives, the production of a text-

1128 Book reviews Journal of the

American Academy of Dermatology

book dedicated to dermatologic immunology and allergy, was begun in 1980 and completed with the publication of this volume. The text is dedi- cated to Dr. Robert Good, pioneer in the field of immunology and particularly of bone marrow transplantation.

The book is divided into two sections, the first dealing with theory of allergy and immunology and the second with practical application of that theory in diagnosis and therapy of dermatologic disease. The twenty-two chapters of part one are each long and individuaUy complete. There is a great deal of repetition of detail from one chapter to the next. Each chapter can thus stand alone, as it should be able to do in a reference work, yet in reading through the chapters sequentially (as few will do) the repetition is a bit tiresome. The chap- ters have extensive references and cover topics ranging from individual components of the im- mune system (complement, cell species, organs) to biochemistry and organization of the immune response and methods for testing and quantifying the function of the system in health and disease.

The thirty-two chapters of part two deal with application of the theoretical background from part one. The classic areas of primary immunodefi- ciency diseases and the allergic manifestations of asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are ap- proached first, followed by urticaria, contact der- matitis, and contact urticaria. The rheumatoid dis- eases, vasculitis, and immune complex diseases are no strangers in a dermatology text and are well outlined.

There is an extensive section on infections: fun- gal, viral, and bacterial. It is apparent that im- munology affects every area of dermatology in one way or another, as can be seen from the discussions of acne, scabies, hair loss, and vitiligo, along with chapters on tumor immunology, granulomatous diseases, disorders of zinc metabolism, and graft- versus-host disease.

Finally, areas of increasing future interest to the dermatologist are covered, including application of retinoids, monoclonal antibody production and application, interferon, immunotherapy, and ge- netic engineering.

This complete and authoritative text certainly belongs in the library of training programs for both dermatologists and allergists. It is a volume that

will be used primarily for reference and may be important for the personal library of the practitio- ner of dermatology with an interest in the theory and application of immunologic processes. It rep- resents a grand tribute to the accomplishments of Dr. Good and the insight of Dr. Stone.

Margaret F. Guill, M.D., Augusta, GA

The software catalog: Health professions James S. Lewis, M.D., and Roy Cromartie, M.D., editors, New York, 1985, Elsevier Science Pub- lishing Co. Inc. 188 pages. $30.

This book is primarily a catalog of descriptions of various computer software products. It is ar- ranged by the software manufacturer or vendor. The descriptions appear to be vendor supplied. Additionally, the catalog contains a classification and arrangement by computer hardware system.

However, this latter classification requires the reader to cross reference the software available for a particular hardware system with a product num- ber (International Standard Program Number- ISPN) and then refer to that number in the vendor section of the catalog. Consequently, when one is looking for software for a specific computer hard- ware system, it is necessary to refer to at least two different sections of the catalog to gain the nec- essary information. It would have been more use- ful to a reader if the catalog detailed the vendor- supplied description under the classification by specific computer hardware system. Thus, the reader with a specific computer would be able to find the catalog much more useful.

The catalog also contains several monographs on computers in medicine, data base management systems, and word processing. These articles make for very interesting reading.

Finally, the reader should be aware that a printed catalog such as this represents only the state of software availability at a point in time. The rapidly changing marketplace in this area would quickly obsolete such a compendium of software products. No independent evaluations for the various soft- ware products detailed in the catalog are provided by the authors.

Lawrence E. Rosenthal, Ph.D., Evanston, 11_,