Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 15, Number 2, Spring 2005
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
The Pain System in Normal and Pathological States: A Primer for Clinicians. Progress in Pain Research and Management, Volume 31
Reviewed by John D. Loeser, MD
Luis Villanueva, Anthony Dickenson, and Hélène Ollat (Eds.), Seattle, WA, IASP Press, 2004, 347 pages, $57.00 IASP members, $71.00 nonmembers (hard cover), ISBN 0-931092-53-1.
This book is dedicated to Jean-Marie Besson and is based upon contributions to a symposium held in his honor last year. Its authors are an all-star group of scientists, and they have produced a volume that describes superb research by many of the pacesetters in the basic sciences of pain. It is divided into five sections:
- nociceptive inputs to the dorsal horn,
- dorsal horn plasticity following injury,
- anatomical and functional organization of ascending pain pathways,
- endogenous modulatory systems: their role in analgesia and pain, and
- novel therapeutic strategies: preclinical and clinical approaches. There are 19 chapters and an index.
I do not think that it is a “primer” in any sense of that word. Instead, it is a collection of research topics that offer tantalizing possibilities for the explanations of chronic pain, plus a terminal epidemiology paper by Henry McQuay. The book would have been a much more valuable and unique contribution if the editors had tried to synthesize the various papers and construct a primer for clinicians. As it stands, the book is an excellent source of information on the topics of interest to a group of outstanding scientists who participated in a meeting to honor Jean-Marie Besson.
Dr. Loeser is Professor of Neurological Surgery and Anesthesiology at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Reviewer content represents the opinion of the reviewer, not APS.
Please direct your suggestions for future Resource Reviews to John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor, at jdloeser@u.washington.edu.