Hailed by professional journals and esteemed by primary care physicians, Bronchial Asthma: A Guide for Practical Understanding and Treatment, Sixth Edition, has been fully updated to help physicians face the challenge of diagnosis and management in every variety of patient subpopulation.

According to the Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee (ADCC), between 14.7 and 23.5 million people in the USA up to eight percent of the population are affected by autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are a family of more than 100 chronic, and often disabling, illnesses that develop when underlying defects in the immune system lead the body to attack its own organs, tissues, and cells. In Handbook of Autoimmune Disease, the editors have gathered in a comprehensive handbook a critical review, by renowned experts, of more than 100 autoimmune diseases, divided into two main groups, namely systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. A contemporary overview of these conditions with special emphasis on diagnosis is presented. Each chapter contains the essential information required by attending physicians as well as bench scientists to understand the definition of a specific autoimmune disease, the diagnostic criteria, and the treatment.

In this commonsense book, Dr. Gershwin and Dr. Klingelhofer offer sensible, practical strategies for identifying the substances that cause allergies (allergens), the symptoms they cause, ways exposure to allergens can be avoided or reduced, and ways you can relieve the symptoms. Living Allergy Free also treats some reactions that are commonly assumed to be allergies, but are really sensitivity or irritant reactions, shows how they can be distinguished from true allergies, and tells you what to do about them. If you suffer from allergies-or if you think you do-Living Allergy Free is just what the doctor would order!

Several years ago, two of us published a full-length textbook entitled Nutrition and Immunology: Principles and Practice. The book was aca demically successful and well received by our peers. Our colleagues commented that while the book was eminently suitable for a library, there was still an intellectual need for a more concise volume on nutrition and immunology for health care providers and scientists working at the inter face of delivering therapeutic and/or preventive health care. We agreed and decided that a book focused on issues relevant to laboratory workers and to developing countries would be valuable. We invited well-known experts in their fields to contribute a chapter each and asked that they err on the short rather than the long side and update cited review articles rather than original papers wherever possible. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is the culmination of that process. Our intention is that the book will grow over time and new editions will fill identified voids that meet the changing needs of health care providers and scientists interested in the practical aspects related to evaluating nutrition and immunology in the field. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is for those people working in both adult and child nutrition throughout the world. It is also of relevance to those in the pharmaceutical and the food industry who are interested in developing ways to evaluate both the efficacy and effective ness of their products."

The number of children with allergies is astounding-nearly one child in six is said to suffer from some sort of allergy. The problems of these allergic children can be as mild as occasional attacks of hay fever or as severe as disfiguring eczema and life-threatening bronchial asthma. In addition to the obvious health problems associated with having allergies, affected children may experience recurring colds, painful ear infections, and other allergy linked conditions, all of which cause frequent school absences. Childhood allergies affect school performance adversely; they may be instrumental in reducing attention span, and they are certainly a major social, psychologi cal, and financial burden for children and their parents. This book is a complete guide to childhood allergies presented in simple jargon-free language. It provides parents with comprehensive, up-to-date, and practical information and advice on how to help their allergic children. It identifies the many allergic symptoms, tells what they look like, how prevalent they are, what causes them, and what to do about them. It outlines steps parents can take to help their children understand, manage, and control their allergies. Its goal is to help parents and children cope effectively with a major childhood problem."

Those who do not feel pain seldom think that it is felt. SAMUEL JoHNSON, The Rambler, no. 48 (September 1, 1750) Who among us has not experienced the suffering of a patient with chronic disease, who in addition to the vicissitudes of fatigue, anxiety, and frustration, must also deal with the suffering of pain? Who among us has not considered, and then reconsidered, whether a patient's complaints are worthy of a narcotic and thence worried about the social and legal implications of chronic use? Who among us has not refused pain medications to our patients for fear that use was turning into abuse? Finally, who among us would not have liked a clinical guide to a myriad of syndromes, all of which have pain as their common denominator, in the hopes of developing some strategy to prioritize treatment. Our purpose in preparing The Pain Management Handbook is to provide the informa tion needed by clinicians to develop strategies that optimize pain management. It is the goal of the editors and authors that the present handbook, above all else, will be clinically useful. Its aim is to provide practical information regarding the diagnosis and treatment of disorders causing pain, along with tables and graphics to provide the busy practitioner with rapid access to relevant data."

A fully updated edition of a widely respected classic on the diagnosis and management of asthma in a variety of patient subpopulations. Though this fifth edition continues to emphasize the definition, medications, and use of asthma treatment plans, it also focuses on the special needs patient, including the pediatric patient, the pregnant patient, and the patient undergoing surgery, as well as on the perennial issues of exercise and asthma, pulmonary aspergillosis, occupation, recreational drug use, and psychological/social considerations. Highlights for the fifth edition include a liberal use of tables and charts to make the book more practical and user-friendly, updates on the many new pharmaceuticals used to treat asthma, and first-time sections on food sensitivity and the diagnosis of asthma.

Liver Immunology: Principles and Practice, Second Edition begins with important information about the epidemiology and mortality of liver disease worldwide. This information is followed by chapters related to basic immunology, application of liver immunology for diagnosis, and several excellent chapters that provide a solid foundation for understanding immune-mediated liver disease, including those associated with the biliary tree. A chapter on non-hepatic manifestations of immune mediated liver disease helps provide context for how these diseases affect the patient overall.  In addition, chapters discuss various discrete immunologically-mediated infectious liver disorders including those related to bacteria, parasites, and all of the classic viruses. Chapters on the traditional autoimmune liver diseases --  primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis as well as overlap syndrome – are also included. The breadth of this comprehensive second edition is highlighted by chapters on alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and drug-induced liver disease, among others.  This invaluable new edition ends with a forward-looking view of future directions and how the field might meet the challenge of refractory patients.  Developed by a renowned group of authors, Liver Immunology: Principles and Practice, Second Edition will again serve as a comprehensive textbook by providing an excellent overview for this rapidly evolving field. It greatly adds to the understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases, while also providing novel insights that can be harnessed into helping improve the care of patients afflicted with various immune-mediated diseases.  This volume will again be a must-read for clinicians at all levels, investigators and students.

According to the Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee (ADCC), between 14.7 and 23.5 million people in the USA - up to eight percent of the population are affected by autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are a family of more than 100 chronic, and often disabling, illnesses that develop when underlying defects in the immune system lead the body to attack its own organs, tissues, and cells. In Handbook of Autoimmune Disease, the editors have gathered in a comprehensive handbook a critical review, by renowned experts, of more than 100 autoimmune diseases, divided into two main groups, namely systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. A contemporary overview of these conditions with special emphasis on diagnosis is presented. Each chapter contains the essential information required by attending physicians as well as bench scientists to understand the definition of a specific autoimmune disease, the diagnostic criteria, and the treatment.

Tiselius demonstrated that the immunologically active components of immune sera migrated electrophoretically in the gamma globulin region. His findings illuminated the classic observations of Jenner regarding development of resistance to infection, and those of von Pirquet, Pasteur, and Arthus regarding the transfer and specificity of resistance. Conceptual integration of these observations provided the impetus for the present modern era of immunology. Subsequent to Tiselius's work, multiple, rapid advances have occurred in the study of congenital and acquired immune deficiency states in mice, chickens, and humans. These studies have readily demonstrated that the immunologic ability of an organ ism to protect itself from environmental influences is a prerequisite for survival. Indeed, this necessity for protection from microenvironmental influences has promoted the evolu tionary development of immunologic diversification, namely, host dependence upon a sophisticated, multifaceted network of cells and effector mechanisms responsible for the clearance and neutralization of toxins and potentially harmful pathogens. The obligate dependence of animals upon the functional integrity of their immunologic systems is illus trated by the ready invasion of ubiquitous organisms when the host is in a state of immune defense derangement. Nevertheless, derangements in immune function can range from par tial to complete and can be compatible with survival. The consequences of such derange ments run the gamut from subclinical disease to inevitable mortality."

In this commonsense book, Dr. Gershwin and Dr. Klingelhofer offer sensible, practical strategies for identifying the substances that cause allergies (allergens), the symptoms they cause, ways exposure to allergens can be avoided or reduced, and ways you can relieve the symptoms. Living Allergy Free also treats some reactions that are commonly assumed to be allergies, but are really sensitivity or irritant reactions, shows how they can be distinguished from true allergies, and tells you what to do about them. If you suffer from allergies-or if you think you do-Living Allergy Free is just what the doctor would order!

Tiselius demonstrated that the immunologically active components of immune sera migrated electrophoretically in the gamma globulin region. His findings illuminated the classic observations of Jenner regarding development of resistance to infection, and those of von Pirquet, Pasteur, and Arthus regarding the transfer and specificity of resistance. Conceptual integration of these observations provided the impetus for the present modern era of immunology. Subsequent to Tiselius's work, multiple, rapid advances have occurred in the study of congenital and acquired immune deficiency states in mice, chickens, and humans. These studies have readily demonstrated that the immunologic ability of an organ ism to protect itself from environmental influences is a prerequisite for survival. Indeed, this necessity for protection from microenvironmental influences has promoted the evolu tionary development of immunologic diversification, namely, host dependence upon a sophisticated, multifaceted network of cells and effector mechanisms responsible for the clearance and neutralization of toxins and potentially harmful pathogens. The obligate dependence of animals upon the functional integrity of their immunologic systems is illus trated by the ready invasion of ubiquitous organisms when the host is in a state of immune defense derangement. Nevertheless, derangements in immune function can range from par tial to complete and can be compatible with survival. The consequences of such derange ments run the gamut from subclinical disease to inevitable mortality."

Hailed by professional journals and esteemed by primary care physicians, Bronchial Asthma: A Guide for Practical Understanding and Treatment, Sixth Edition, has been fully updated to help physicians face the challenge of diagnosis and management in every variety of patient subpopulation.

Those who do not feel pain seldom think that it is felt. SAMUEL JoHNSON, The Rambler, no. 48 (September 1, 1750) Who among us has not experienced the suffering of a patient with chronic disease, who in addition to the vicissitudes of fatigue, anxiety, and frustration, must also deal with the suffering of pain? Who among us has not considered, and then reconsidered, whether a patient's complaints are worthy of a narcotic and thence worried about the social and legal implications of chronic use? Who among us has not refused pain medications to our patients for fear that use was turning into abuse? Finally, who among us would not have liked a clinical guide to a myriad of syndromes, all of which have pain as their common denominator, in the hopes of developing some strategy to prioritize treatment. Our purpose in preparing The Pain Management Handbook is to provide the informa tion needed by clinicians to develop strategies that optimize pain management. It is the goal of the editors and authors that the present handbook, above all else, will be clinically useful. Its aim is to provide practical information regarding the diagnosis and treatment of disorders causing pain, along with tables and graphics to provide the busy practitioner with rapid access to relevant data.

Although the mechanisms and triggers that stimulate and are responsible for the natural history ofasthma are steadily being more clearly defined, uncertainties still surround both the genetic basis and the etiologyofone of the most common syndromes in the world. In fact, it is ofconsider- able concern and interest that the incidence of asthma today appears to be rising. These statistical increments may only reflect an increasing awareness of the disease, or its earlier and more sophisticated diagnosis. More important, however, asthma mortality appears to be increasing. This increase has occurred despite the continuing expansion of a diag- nostic and management information base, and the developmentofnovel andevermoreeffective therapeutic modalities. Severalexplanations have been offered for this increase in mortality, including that it may result from a statistical artifact [based on a change in the coding criteria for asthma from the International ClassificationofDiseases Version 8(ICD- 8) to ICD-9], worsened pollution, delays in seeking medical help, behav- ioral changes, deficits in the asthma education of both patients and primary careproviders, toxicity ofbeta-agonists, and noncompliance with instructions for the proper use of medications. It should also be empha- sized that the increases in both incidence and mortality may be a reflec- tion of accumulating body burdens of environmental toxicants and of increased oxidativedamage. There has clearly beenadegradation ofenvi- ronmental quality. And although considerableattention has been focused on this possibility in both the scientific and lay press, more research in this area is definitely needed.

The comprehensive nature of this text will appeal To many physicians, the study of sinus disease to a wide range of physicians including generalists, reflects a discipline only slightly less interesting otolaryngologists, and allergists. Family physi than a Johnson and Johnson gauze pad, a pursuit cians, internists, pediatricians, and allergists will followed by dilettanti and eccentric professors. To each profit from having a single source that pro others, it represents a subsection of an undefined vides an in-depth review of topics pertaining to discipline that crosses barriers of internal medi sinus diseases. The otolaryngologist will benefit cine, pediatrics, allergy, chest disease, and oto from having a single text that provides a detailed laryngology. To patients, sinus problems are discussion of the many ancillary medical problems synonymous with headaches and a chronic source of morbidity. Yet few physicians have been pre that influence sinus function and, therefore, surgi cal outcome. We hope that all readers will enjoy the pared, until recently, to do much more than pre international choice of authors whose topics have scribe antibiotics, intranasal steroids, antihistamines, been purposely allowed to overlap in an effort to and commiserate for the misery involved. Fortu provide the broadest possible scope of informa nately, this picture shows significant signs of tion. We expect Diseases of the Sinuses to serve as impending remission. The disciplines of clinical immunology, allergy, and otolaryngology have the foundation of an ever-stronger ongoing effort to combat sinus disease.

Several years ago, two of us published a full-length textbook entitled Nutrition and Immunology: Principles and Practice. The book was aca demically successful and well received by our peers. Our colleagues commented that while the book was eminently suitable for a library, there was still an intellectual need for a more concise volume on nutrition and immunology for health care providers and scientists working at the inter face of delivering therapeutic and/or preventive health care. We agreed and decided that a book focused on issues relevant to laboratory workers and to developing countries would be valuable. We invited well-known experts in their fields to contribute a chapter each and asked that they err on the short rather than the long side and update cited review articles rather than original papers wherever possible. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is the culmination of that process. Our intention is that the book will grow over time and new editions will fill identified voids that meet the changing needs of health care providers and scientists interested in the practical aspects related to evaluating nutrition and immunology in the field. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is for those people working in both adult and child nutrition throughout the world. It is also of relevance to those in the pharmaceutical and the food industry who are interested in developing ways to evaluate both the efficacy and effective ness of their products.

The number of children with allergies is astounding-nearly one child in six is said to suffer from some sort of allergy. The problems of these allergic children can be as mild as occasional attacks of hay fever or as severe as disfiguring eczema and life-threatening bronchial asthma. In addition to the obvious health problems associated with having allergies, affected children may experience recurring colds, painful ear infections, and other allergy linked conditions, all of which cause frequent school absences. Childhood allergies affect school performance adversely; they may be instrumental in reducing attention span, and they are certainly a major social, psychologi cal, and financial burden for children and their parents. This book is a complete guide to childhood allergies presented in simple jargon-free language. It provides parents with comprehensive, up-to-date, and practical information and advice on how to help their allergic children. It identifies the many allergic symptoms, tells what they look like, how prevalent they are, what causes them, and what to do about them. It outlines steps parents can take to help their children understand, manage, and control their allergies. Its goal is to help parents and children cope effectively with a major childhood problem."

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the occurrence of antibodies reacting with self-constituents of the body. The fully updated third edition of "Autoantibodies" is an in-depth review of the main autoantibodies identified up to now, with particular emphasis on those that display a diagnostic or prognostic clinical value.

The new edition covers recent scientific advances, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic technologies. Each chapter is focused on a single family of autoantibodies. This important reference contains historical notes, definitions, origins and sources of antigens recognized genetic associations, mediated pathogenic mechanisms, methods of detection, as well as clinical utility (disease prevalence and association, diagnostic value, sensitivity and specificity, prognostic value). This is an ideal reference for anyone involved in the field of autoimmune diseases.
Presents all known, important autoantibodies in a single source, focusing on the antibodies needed for autoimmune disorder diagnosisIncludes clinical applications for each autoantibody along with general informationOrganized by disease and disorder type, by autoantibody family, and completely cross-referenced

This volume features key presentations from the 6th International Congress of Autoimmunity. The International Congress of Autoimmunity has become established as one of the major meetings in the field of immunology, with presentations covering every aspect of basic research in the hopes of clarifying pathogenesis of autoimmune disease as well as providing information on the latest innovations in biological and other modes of treatment. The goal of this volume is to present cutting edge research that focuses in particular on newer diagnostic tools and newer therapies for human autoimmune disease.

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