Since the dawn of the industrial age, we have unleashed a bewildering number of potentially harmful chemicals. But out of this vast array, how do we identify the actual threats? What does it take to prove that a certain chemical causes cancer? How do we translate academic knowledge of the toxic effects of particular substances into understanding real-world health consequences? The science that answers these questions is toxicology. In The Alchemy of Disease, John Whysner offers an accessible and compelling history of toxicology and its key findings. He details the experiments and discoveries that revealed the causal connections between chemical exposures and diseases. Balancing clear accounts of groundbreaking science with human drama and public-policy relevance, Whysner describes key moments in the development of toxicology and their thorny social and political implications. The book features discussions of toxicological problems past and present, including DDT, cigarettes and other carcinogens, lead poisoning, fossil fuels, chemical warfare, pharmaceuticals-including opioids-and the efficacy of animal testing. Offering valuable insight into the science and politics of crucial public-health concerns, The Alchemy of Disease shows that toxicology's task-pinpointing the chemical cause of an illness-is as compelling as any detective story.

Rabies is the deadliest zoonotic disease that threatens humans and animals on all continents except Antarctica. Asia and Africa are worst affected as more than 95 per cent of rabies associated human deaths occur in these regions. India alone bears about 36 per cent of the global human rabies burden. Dogs are the main transmitters of rabies that potentially threaten over 3 billion people in Asia and Africa. Many developed nations have been able to successfully control dog rabies but continue to face the risk from wildlife including bats. Bat rabies is responsible for most human rabies deaths in the United States of America and Canada but has emerged as a public health threat in Australia, Latin America and Western Europe as well. Despite being vaccine preventable, rabies continues to haunt the mankind. Poor resources is a major constraint but the factors like low priority attributed to rabies, misconceptions in the community about the disease and unsystematic approach for its prevention and control are also responsible for the grim situation. Targets have been set for elimination of human and dog rabies in all Latin American countries by 2015 and of human rabies transmitted by dogs in South-East Asia by 2020. However, the myths prevailing among the people together with inadequate knowledge of the health professionals, veterinarians, and the civic body staff about the rabies prevention and control strategies might make the task very difficult. This book comprising eight chapters elaborates the causation of rabies in man and animals, its global epidemiology, risk analysis and effective strategies for the management of exposures. Proven methods of rabies prevention and control have been discussed in length along with the challenges and ways to overcome the constraints through intersectoral coordination. The inclusion of 200 frequently asked questions is a unique feature of the book which may help not only the common people and pet lovers in clearing their doubts about rabies in man and animals also be equally instrumental in updating the knowledge and skills of the public health personnel, veterinarians and other professionals. Apt illustrations and simple language make the contents of the book easily comprehensible and a reading pleasure.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a prevalence of 0.1% of the global population, and 5-10% patients are under 40 years of age. Several text books have been published on various aspects of PD to date, including research and clinical aspects. However these do not emphasize the inflammatory pathways and pathways of neurodegeneration in PD. Inflammation in Parkinson’s Disease brings advances in research together with current literature and evidence. This concise volume covers the fundamentals of neuroimmunology and inflammatory models, the interactions between pathways of neurodegeneration and follows the concept of research work undertaken from basic science to clinical trials. Researchers, clinicians, and students interested in Parkinson's Disease are provided with a comprehensive view of translational research methods and an insight needed for developing future therapies aimed at disease modulation.

Originally published in 1915, this book gathers together a collection of papers on tuberculosis by the renowned British epidemiologist Arthur Ransome (1834 1922). The papers approach the subject from a number of different viewpoints, encompassing both scientific and public health perspectives, and draw on Ransome's experience of more than fifty years fighting tuberculosis. Illustrative figures and notes are also incorporated within the text. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in tuberculosis and the history of medicine."

This revelatory book charts and explains the impact and consequences of successive pandemics, plagues and epidemics on the course of world history - all through the lens of today's ongoing global experience of COVID 19\. Ranging from prehistory to the present day, it first defines what constitutes a pandemic or epidemic then looks at 20 guilty diseases: including cholera, influenza, bubonic plague, leprosy, measles, smallpox, malaria, AIDS, MERS, SARS, Zika, Ebola and, of course, Covid-19\. Some less well-known, but equally significant and deadly contagions such as Legionnaires' Disease, psittacosis, polio, the Sweat, and dancing plague, are also covered. The book is ordered chronologically. Each chapter features an explanation and description of epidemiology, sources and vectors, morbidity, mortality, governmental response and reaction, societal response and impact as well as psychological issues where known - and the political, legal and scientific consequences it had or has for each locus at a local and international level. In short - the book explains how each of the events both made and influenced subsequent history in its own way, particularly how each shaped future medical and scientific research and vaccine development programmes. It also examines myths about infectious diseases, the role of the media and social media. Perhaps most importantly, Paul Chrystal asks what lessons have been learnt. Will we be better prepared next time? Because, if one thing is sure, there is going to be a 'next time'.

JIMD Reports publishes case and short research reports in the area of inherited metabolic disorders. Case reports highlight some unusual or previously unrecorded feature relevant to the disorder, or serve as an important reminder of clinical or biochemical features of a Mendelian disorder.

The increased incidence of pancreatic cancer in the Western world and its grave prognosis has resulted in an urgency for research in this area. Until now the available data on toxicology of the pancreas has been few and fragmentary, scattered throughout the literature. A benchmark volume, Toxicology of the Pancreas pulls together information in this neglected area of toxicological research and highlights fundamental research performed in the last ten years. Leaders in the field discuss important structures, the detoxification and toxification process at the cellular and sub-cellular level, the distribution of phase 1 and phase 2 drug-metabolizing enzymes and their role in pancreatic disease, and the role of diet and toxicants on pancreatic disease. The book also covers the role of altered genes in the integrity of the pancreas and explores comparative toxicology in humans and in the lab species used in testing. Illustrated with histological, electron microscopical, and immunohistochemical formats, this book provides a comprehensive and novel presentation of biological and toxicological data. It stands alone as a reliable resource of information easily accessible to professionals in different disciplines.

This book will identify the top dermatological conditions for patients with skin of color and provide essential features which contrast these conditions in darker skin types. The reader will be able to formulate informed treatment regimens for patients with skin of color. The book will also provide clinical pearls to guide decision making, as well as important cultural beliefs that must be considered in order to provide optimal care to patients with skin of color. Clinical cases are a key component in modern medical education, assisting the trainee or recertifying clinician to work through unusual cases using best practice techniques. Dermatology is an important discipline in this regard since it is a highly visual subject requiring the reader to describe often very subtle differences in the presentation of patients and define accurately the diagnostic and management criteria to base their clinical decision-making on. By the year 2050, people with skin of color (including Africans, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics) will represent more than half of the U.S. population. There is now an increasing demand for dermatologic treatments in patients with skin of color, as well as an accompanying need for education and training in this quickly expanding market. Skin of Color is a key topic within dermatology as specific conditions can be harder to diagnose effectively in darker skin, and their treatment can be compromised by this. Conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and atopic dermatitis may be more difficult to diagnose in darker skin. There are various other conditions that can provide a challenge in management, including postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma, scarring, alopecias, and pseudofolliculitis barbae. If these skin disorders are not diagnosed and treated properly, the initial lesions can become darker as they heal, and the darker spots can last for years in some cases.

This book contains a series of contributions from internationally renowned academics with special expertise in one or other diseases which collectively are grouped under the heading myeloproliferative disorders. There have been many recent developments in understanding the pathophysiology and a number therapeutic innovations in this area. A feature of this book is the speed with which it has been produced - an important factor in this rapidly moving field.

Phosphoinositides (PIs) are minor components of cellular membranes that play critical regulatory roles in several intracellular functions. This book describes the main enzymes regulating the turnover of each of the seven PIs in mammalian cells, some of their intracellular functions and some evidence of their involvement in human diseases. Due to the complex inter-relation between the distinct PIs and the plethora of functions that they can regulate inside a cell, this book is not meant to be a comprehensive coverage of all aspects of PIs signalling but rather an overview on the current state of the field and where it could go from here. Phosphoinositide and inositol phosphates interact with and modulate the recruitment and activation of key regulatory proteins and in doing so control diverse functions including cell growth and proliferation, apoptosis, cytoskeletal dynamics, insulin action, vesicle trafficking and nuclear function. Initially, inositide signaling was limited to the PLC pathway; however, it is now clear that all the seven phosphoinositides and more than 30 different inositol phosphates likely have specific signaling functions. Moreover there is a growing list of proteins that are regulated by inositol signaling. This has raised the question as to how inositol signaling can control diverse processes and yet maintain signaling specificity. Controlling the levels of inositol signaling molecules and their subcellular compartmentalisation is likely to be critical. This meeting will bring together scientists from different backgrounds to discuss how understanding inositol signaling may be used to target complex human diseases that manifest themselves when inositol signaling is deregulated.

Rising occurrences of various diseases and epidemics have pressurized the already-burdened health system across the globe, and this imposes an unprecedented challenge on our current research in identifying disease-specific biomarkers and molecular targets, in particular for cancers, neurological disorders and unexplained infertility. Despite decades of efforts in deciphering the fundamental biology underlying various diseases at discrete levels using an array of advanced technologies, attempts to identify reliable and disease-indicating markers for detection and biomolecules or cellular structures for targeting are still in vain. This monograph describes and discusses the updated findings in this field with a specific aim to compile prior and recent literature and from there to acquire some insights to facilitate future research to expand options of understanding, detecting and treating diseases. Among the many possible areas of biomedical research, this content comprises two themes: disease biomarkers and molecular targets. The book also covers topics that are more advanced in development to emerging scientific discoveries. In particular, this monograph includes concepts on the renovated use of oncofetal molecules in cancer prediction and treatment, the evolving development in cancer biology at the cellular and molecular levels and the recent involvement on new classes of molecules in diseases. This book renews established concepts in the field, and at the same time leads to important insights for research and development of drugs, diagnostics, and interventions for managing diseases of unmet medical needs.

This authoritative and comprehensive 1996 publication looks in depth at a range of medical syndromes characterised by serious and unpredicted internal overheating of the body. These episodes may arise suddenly and unexpectedly in certain individuals, with life-threatening consequences, either as a result of heat stress, exceptional physical exertion or in response to certain common anaesthetics and some drugs, including ecstasy. The chapters focus on the full range of these syndromes, their metabolic and physiological basis, the important pre-disposing factors for the prediction of those at risk, and the medical management of these conditions. The volume includes important contributions from authors of international repute and incorporates a wealth of information from the Leeds malignant hyperthermia investigation unit. This compilation will be of interest to those wanting to understand these disorders.

This book contains selected contributions to the 16th European Conference on Psychosomatic Research, held in Athens from September 6 to 11, 1986. The t of psychosomatic medicine was one of the two basic topics of the meeting. We thought that, since this topic has a touch of history in it, it would be appropriate for a conference held in Greece. It is really amazing how advanced the psychosomatic conceptions of the ancient Greek philosophers and physicians were. It was the basic psychosomatic ideology that Socrates was expressing when he taught: "S"lOTT :: P O

The book will provide an overview of the roles of vascular adhesion molecules in health and disease, with chapters on their cell biology, followed by chapters reviewing their importance in specific disease processes. Vascular adhesion molecules are vital for the physiological processes of leukocyte trafficking and also critically involved in the enhanced leukocyte emigration that is a key feature of all inflammatory and immune diseases. The book is designed to provide up-to-date, linked reviews of the subject suitable for postgraduate students entering the field or research workers from allied disciplines needing a modern overview.

Literally thousands of papers have been published on nitric oxide over the past ten years. But there is no single monograph available that has previously attempted to summarize the important features of the roles of nitric oxide in inflammation. The voluminous literature regarding the incredible range of chemical and biological effects of nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen oxide species, RNOS, may present a tangle of confusing information to the researcher. This volume brings together experts from nitric oxide and inflammation research and presents a concise up-to-date overview as well as future aspects of this rapidly growing field.

Proteases are everywhere from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, from virus to bacteria and in all human tissues, playing a role in many biological functions. Among these functions, the inflammatory reaction is of particular interest. In inflamed tissues, proteases can have a microbial and/or host origin and are involved not only in tissue remodeling, but also in specific signaling to resident or inflammatory cells, thereby contributing to the innate immune response.

This volume presents all advances in our knowledge of the role proteases and their inhibitors play in various diseases associated with inflammatory response. Mechanisms involved in protease signaling to cells are presented, and the different types of proteases that are present at inflammatory sites and their effects on the course of inflammation are discussed. Finally, the evidence for considering proteases and their receptors as potential molecular targets for therapeutic interventions in the treatment of inflammatory diseases is discussed in the context of specific organ inflammatory pathologies (the lung, gastrointestinal tract, skin, joints, etc.).

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This volume contains contributions by well-known scientists and clinicians in the fields of microbiology, infectious diseases, physiology, internal medicine, surgery, anaesthesiology, and intensive care medicine. It provides an up-to-date overview of the mediators and pathophysology of sepsis and septic shock as well as the latest therapeutic approaches.

Providing essential support to schools and universities that offer yoga therapy training programs, this comprehensive, edited textbook develops robust curricula, enabling them to prepare yoga therapists to integrate into healthcare settings safely and effectively. The book includes a large and international list of contributors from diverse lineages and backgrounds such as Matthew Taylor, Gail Parker and Steffany Moonaz, and is the first resource on yoga therapy that aligns with the educationl competencies of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). It covers yoga foundations (philosophical background, ayurveda, tantra), biomedical and psychological foundations, yoga therapy tools and therapeutic skills, yogic and biopsychosocial-spiritual assessments, and professional practices. As the field of yoga therapy continues to root and grow, this book is essential for both new yoga therapy practitioners, and for schools developing training programs.

Jaundice ofnewbom infants was described by several authors in the 17th century. The condition, however, was usually thought of as being similar to adult jaundice and due ro occlusion of the bile ducts by 'glutinous humours'. On the other hand, some writers reported on the fact that more than one consecutive baby was often affected, and there is a classic example of the disease in twins written by Louyse Bourgeois, the midwife of Marie de Medici, in 1609. It was not until early in the 20th century that it was realised that the common link between these familial cases was anaemia, and later still that this was of the haemolytic type. The breakthrough, in terms of an idea, came in 1938, when Darrow postulated that the baby's red cells were destroyed by an immune reaction on the part of the mother, the result of immunisation by paternal factors in the fetus. Shortly afterwards Wiener discovered an entirely new blood group system, 'Rh', and it was found that it was in compatibility within this system that was responsible for the vast majority of cases of haemolytic disease of the newborn."

Dr Taylor's book analyses the disease concept as it developed in medical history and seeks to clarify it with the help of concepts largely derived from logical class theories. A solution is proposed to the problem of how to distinguish between the class of 'patients' and the class of 'healthy persons' which corresponds to the actual diagnostic practices of doctors. The earliest theories of disease postulated concrete entities which exist independently of the body. The notion of disease entity has lost its original ontological connotations and instead its important feature has become the possession of a unitary and self-contained character. Dr Taylor describes the modern theories as essentially 'reactive' in character, that is the symptoms of a disease are the bodily reactions to the 'noxae'. After seeing the subject in its historical content, Dr Taylor goes on to discuss in detail the notion of the classification of diseases, making extensive use of modern views on the logic of classes.

Francois Delaporte's Chagas Disease chronicles Brazilian medicine's encounter with a disease, an insect, and a history of discovery. Between 1909 and 1911, Carlos Chagas described an infection (pathogenic trypanosome), its intermediate host, and the illness that he believed it caused, parasitic thyroiditis. Chagas's work did not lack significance: the disease that came to share his name would be one of Latin America's most serious endemic diseases. However, the clinical identification of the disease through "Romana's sign" (a palpebral edema or swelling of the eyelid) some decades later marked a transformation in the general medical knowledge of the disease and its basis altogether. Not only was the disease entity that Chagas had described shown to be a nosological illusion, but twenty-five years of scientific controversy turned out to have been based on a misunderstanding. The continued use of the term "Chagas's Disease" even after Cecilio Romana's discovery thus refers to a fundamental ambiguity. Delaporte dispels this ambiguity by re-examining the various discoveries, dead ends, controversies, and major epistemological transformations that marked the history of the disease--a history that begins with the creation of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro and ends in the forests of Santa Fe in northern Argentina. Delaporte's study shows how an epistemological focus can add depth to the history of medicine and complexity to accounts of scientific discovery.