A lucid, up-to-date account of the body's immune system from a pro
who has taught the subject at UCLA for 25 years. Infectious disease
is news Big Time these days - it has been ever since AIDS appeared.
What is fascinating is the game of catch-up that science has been
playing - unraveling the intricacies of the body's immune system
and, more recently, its intimate relation to the nervous system.
Clark reminds us that just a generation ago the body's defenses
were thought to consist only of antibodies: the molecules that
destroy foreign invaders. Not only does Clark explain how the body
can be stimulated, say, by vaccines, to make millions of
antibodies, but he goes into detail about T cells - the other ann
of the immune system. T cells (the T is for the thymus, where they
are made) come in several varieties, of which the most noted today
are the "killer" T cells that search and destroy aberrant cells and
the CD4 "helper" T cells that are killed by the AIDS virus.
Sometimes the immune system is overzealous, however, mounting an
attack that adds insult and injury: There is a misreading of
molecular markers, resulting in attacks on healthy cells, as
happens in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (the war
within), and sometimes there is a need to suppress the system - in
the case of organ transplants. Clark's upbeat outlook suggests that
we can curb excesses as well as stimulate a weakened immune system
with new drugs or gene therapy approaches. He is convinced that
ongoing discoveries of the brain-immune system dialogue will lead
to new approaches to therapy. He is also aware of the pressing need
for organ transplants, raising provocative ethical issues but at
the same time providing a valid Uniform Anatomical Gift Act donor
card for readers to fill out. A good idea that, given his overall
enthusiasm and mastery in explaining complex science, might
persuade more than a few readers. (Kirkus Reviews)
William Clark's
At War Within takes us on a fascinating tour through the immune system, examining the history of its discovery, the ways in which it protects us, and how it may bring its full force to bear at the wrong time or in the wrong place.
Scientists have only gradually come to realize that this elegant defence system not only has the potential to help, as in the case of smallpox, but also the potential to do profound harm in health problems ranging from allergies to AIDS, and from organ transplants to cancer. Dr Clark discusses the myriad of medical problems involving the immune system, and systematically explains each one, making the complexities of this delicately balanced mechanism comprehensible to the lay reader.
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