The 11th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine welcomes Anthony Fauci to its editorial staff, in addition to more than 85 new contributors. While the organization of the book is similar to previous editions, major emphasis has been placed on disorders that affect multiple organ systems. Important advances in genetics, immunology, and oncology are emphasized. Many chapters of the book have been rewritten and describe major advances in internal medicine. Subjects that received only a paragraph or two of attention in previous editions are now covered in entire chapters. Among the chapters that have been extensively revised are the chapters on infections in the compromised host, on skin rashes in infections, on many of the viral infections, including cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, on sexually transmitted diseases, on diabetes mellitus, on disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, and on lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. The major revisions in these chapters and many

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

The biochemistry and medical significance of the flavonoids.

I first read Davidson 30 years ago: at that time it was already in its 5th edition. A brief comparison shows that it then contained about 440,000 words in 1,100 pages: the current edition has compressed 625,000 words into 800 pages. I think I bought it as a student because it was cheap: but also because it seemed to be comprehensive and straightforward, and I have used it as a basis for my medical knowledge ever since. So I miss some of the old pictures of the acute skin rashes such as scarlet fever: in fact infectious disease has been transferred to the back and genetic factors take the first chapters. But careful linguistic comparison will still uncover the old phrases which some of us know by heart-there are minor changes such as 'alarming reactions to intravenous iron are uncommon, but have occasionally been noted', which becomes 'alarming systemic anaphyllactic reactions can occur'. Sir Stanley Davidson made 'no attempt to describe every rare disease or syndrome, but devoted most of the space available to those disorders most commonly encountered in practice'. I have grown up with successive editions, and have gradually come to appreciate the problems of the authors in the compression of knowledge. Having got to know many of them personally as real people rather than as names I can still recommend the book. It is the essential starting point for the study of internal medicine and for many doctors will remain their base reference work. The present editors have kept up-to-date and been prepared to prune the dead wood. There are many competitors in the market, and the publishers must take care with layout and illustration, although Davidson is still the best value for money. I will continue to recommend it to my clinical students: they will need to read it and know it to pass final MB. Postgraduates will need to remember the facts, but also to be able to place them in a broader perspective. The older consultant will still happily read it, and to get to know the authors themselves is really to complete your medical education. Dr John Macleod and his team have successfully kept alive the primary objective 'to provide a rational and easily comprehensible basis for the practice of medicine'. The book is economical in price and compact in size, but still contains the essential truths for the practice of good medicine.

Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine

This book succeeds Review of Medical Pharmacology , by Meyers, Jawetz, and Goldfien. Edited by B. G. Katzung, some of the important areas covered include drug receptors and pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics of absorption and biotransformation of drugs, autonomic pharmacology of cholinergic and adrenergic receptor stimulants and antagonists, antihypertensive agents, cardiac glycosides and other agents used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, therapeutic drugs for cardiac arrhythmias, diuretics, pharmacology of the CNS drugs such as anticonvulsants and anesthetics, antidepressants, narcotic analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, endocrine pharmacology, antimicrobial and antimycobacterial drugs, antiprotozoal and antihelmintic drugs, cancer chemotherapy, and drugs and the immune system. Written by several prominent researchers and scientists, each chapter begins with a section on the basic pharmacology, chemistry, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the agents under discussion. This is followed by a section on clinical pharmacology, which deals with relevant information regarding the clinical use of drugs on the various

Basic and Clinical Pharmacology

Diabetic autonomic neuropathy

The aqueous leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina, Del, (Compositae) given i.p. produced a dose-related fall in blood sugar. A dose of 80 mg/kg body weight of adult rabbit produced a maximum lowering of blood sugar in both fasted normal and alloxanized rabbits. The fasting blood sugar in normoglycaemic rabbits was reduced from 96 mg% to 48 mg% in 4 h. In alloxanized rabbits, the blood sugar was reduced from the mean value of 520 mg% to 300 mg% in 8 h. The hypoglycaemic effects were compared with those of tolbutamide. Acute toxicity studies of the extract in mice gave LD50 value of 1122 mg/kg body weight when given i.p. The blood sugar lowering effect of Vernonia amygdalina extract may involve a mechanism not related to insulin secretion.

Blood sugar lowering effect of Vernonia amygdalina Del, in an experimental rabbit model

Anti-inflammatory activity of hexane leaf extract of Aspilia africana C.D. Adams.

Evaluation of Nigerian traditional medicines: II. Effects of some Nigerian folk remedies on peptic ulcer.

Evaluation of Nigerian traditional medicines: 1. Plants used for rheumatic (inflammatory) disorders

The potentials of the leaves of the haemorrhage plant, Aspilia africana C. D Adams (Compositae) in wound care was evaluated using experimental models. A. africana, which is widespread in Africa, is used in traditional medicine to stop bleeding from wounds, clean the surfaces of sores, in the treatment of rheumatic pains, bee and scorpion stings and for removal of opacities and foreign bodies from the eyes. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potentials for use of leaves of this plant in wound care. The effect of the methanol extract (ME) and the hexane (HF) and methanol (MF) fractions (obtained by cold maceration and graded solvent extraction respectively) on bleeding/clotting time of fresh experimentally-induced wounds in rats, coagulation time of whole rat blood, growth of microbial wound contaminants and rate of healing of experimentally-induced wounds in rats were studied as well as the acute toxicity and lethality (LD50) of the methanol extract and phytochemical analysis of the extract and fractions. The extract and fractions significantly (P ME>HF. Also, the extract and fractions caused varying degrees of inhibition of the growth of clinical isolates of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as typed strains of Ps. aeruginosa (ATCC 10145) and Staph. aureus (ATCC 12600), and reduced epithelialisation period of wounds experimentally-induced in rats. Acute toxicity and lethality (LD50) test in mice established an i.p LD50 of 894 mg/kg for the methanol extract (ME). Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, resins, sterols, terpenoids and carbohydrates. The leaves of A. africana possess constituents capable of arresting wound bleeding, inhibiting the growth of microbial wound contaminants and accelerating wound healing which suggest good potentials for use in wound care.

/pdf/potentials-of-leaves-of-aspilia-africana-compositae-in-wound-19ip126skt.pdf

Peter A. Akah

Papers

Blood sugar lowering effect of Vernonia amygdalina Del, in an experimental rabbit model

Anti-inflammatory activity of hexane leaf extract of Aspilia africana C.D. Adams.

Evaluation of Nigerian traditional medicines: II. Effects of some Nigerian folk remedies on peptic ulcer.

Evaluation of Nigerian traditional medicines: 1. Plants used for rheumatic (inflammatory) disorders

Potentials of leaves of Aspilia africana (Compositae) in wound care: an experimental evaluation.