Volume Editor: Gordon C. Weir. Senior Editors: Leslie J. Groot, Ashley Grossman, J. Larry Jameson, Herald Juppner, David de Kretser, John C. Marshall, Shlomo Melmed, and John T. Potts,
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 532 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

This book with its focus on diabetes mellitus and obesity is part of the series entitled Endocrinology: Adult and Pediatric.

It is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on diabetes mellitus and the related condition of obesity to you the student, clinician, and researcher.

The current explosion of knowledge and the discovery of new drugs that treat various ailments and conditions makes it challenging for physicians to not only keep up with, but also to synthesize and prioritize the newly found information, Dr. Gordon Weir points out in the Preface.

But thanks to the current rapid means of communication, those who are the forefront of new discoveries are able to transmit that new knowledge to those who need it the most – the doctors who treat patients.

The 30 chapters – named below to provide you an overview of the contents in this book – were authored by 66 contributors who are expanding knowledge on the subject matter covered here. They are mostly from the United States, but also from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

  1. Appetite Regulation and Thermogenesis
  2. Obesity : The Problem and its Management
  3. Genetics Syndromes Associate with Obesity
  4. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Other Eating Disorders
  5. Development of the Endocrine Pancreas
  6. Biosynthesis, Processing, and the Secretion of the Islet Hormones
  7. Insulin Secretion
  8. The Mechanisms of Insulin Action
  9. Glucagon and Glucagon-Like Peptides
  10. Regulation of Intermediary Metabolism During Fasting and Feeding
  11. Role of the Adipocyte in Metabolism and Endocrine Function
  12. Lipodystrophy Syndromes
  13. Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus
  14. Type 1 (Insulin-Dependent) Diabetes Mellitus
  15. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
  16. Lipoprotein Metabolism and the Treatment of Lipid Disorders
  17. Hyperglycemia Secondary to Non-diabetic Conditions and Therapies
  18. The Metabolic Syndrome
  19. Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Adults
  20. Ketoacidosis and Hyperosmolar Coma
  21. Hypoglycemia and Hypoglycemic Syndromes
  22. Management of Type 2 Diabetes
  23. Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Children
  24. Pancreatic and Islet Transplantation
  25. Diabetes Control, Long-Term Complications, and Large Vessel Disease
  26. Diabetic Eye Disease
  27. Diabetes Mellitus: Neuropathy
  28. Diabetic Nephropathy
  29. Diabetic Foot and Vascular Complications
  30. Diabetes Mellitus and Pregnancy

You will find the information found in the chapters easy to get through, thanks to the systematic presentation style used. Points covered in the chapter are listed in a box at the beginning.

Those points are then discussed, using charts, figures and tables to aid in understanding the material offered. A Summary along with Acknowledgments is provided towards the end of each chapter. Usually a long list of Reference works is provided at the end, aimed at further expansion of your knowledge. At the end of chapter 1 for example, 208 sources of information are provided.

Extensive coverage of the subject of diabetes mellitus and obesity and provision of a huge volume of material are hallmarks of this book. Dr. Weir and the other editors have done much to make this a very valuable volume in this endocrinology series.

Volume Editor:

Gordon C. Weir, MD is Head of the Section on Islet Transplantation and Cell Biology, and Chair of the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation at the Joslin Diabetes Center. He is also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Senior Editors:

Leslie J. Groot, MD is Research Professor in Cellular and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island – Providence Campus in Providence, Rhode Island.

Ashley Grossman, BA, BSc, MD, FRCP, FMedSci is Professor of Neuroendocrinology and Endocrinology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom

J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD is Professor of Medicine and Dean of Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.

Herald Juppner, MD is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and is affiliated with the Endocrine Unit and Pediatric Nephrology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

David de Kretser, AO, FAA, FTSE, MD, FRACP is Emeritus Professor at Monash University in Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

John C. Marshall, MD, PhD is Andrew D. Hart Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Center for Research in Reproduction in the Department of Medicine at University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Shlomo Melmed, MD is Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dean of the Faculty at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

John T. Potts, Jr., MD is Jackson Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of Research and Physician-in-Chief Emeritus in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.