This textbook will emphasize the pediatric aspects of IBD including the diagnostic approach; special nutrition; growth; bone density as well as psychosocial considerations that are different, and may not exist in adults. Chapters will include IBD genetics, immunology, epidemiology, pharmacogenomics, diagnosis (clinical, laboratory, radiologic, histologic and endoscopic), nutritional and growth aspects, psychosocial issues, extraintestinal manifestations, and management (divided into medical, nutritional and surgical therapy) with special emphasis on new biologic therapeutics. Several short chapters will address issues of perianal IBD, cancer surveillance, alternative therapy and transition to adult care.

An emphasis will be placed on visual aides within the textbook in the form of tables, figures, schemes, algorithms, as well as endoscopy and surgery images.

This updated edition addresses a variety of ethical issues that arise in the care of oncology patients. Many volumes have been written on medical ethics in the past 30 years. However, few have focused on ethical issues specific to cancer care. This book brings together such a focused examination. The contributors include clinicians, ethicists, medical humanists and medical educators. The issues raised have direct relevance to the care of oncology patients in treatment, as well as research settings. The chapters address issues that are central to contemporary medical practice and medical ethics inquiry.

“Ethical Issues in Cancer Patient Care, Second Edition” will have direct importance for clinicians, nurses, and others caring for cancer patients. In addition, medical students, medical educators and ethicists will find this book of interest.

Many comprehensive text books have been written about the common hematologic malignancies. However, every practicing hematologist/oncologist or primary care physician intermittently encounters patients with uncommon or rare hematologic malignancies. Information concerning these diseases, and particularly regarding their management, is extremely difficult to find. Physicians will commonly spend a substantial period of time searching the medical literature for help or will call a colleague who may have greater expertise in the area.

Rare Hematological Malignancies covers malignant hematologic diseases that physicians would see only occasionally, providing accurate, up-to-date information on the disease biology and practical recommendations concerning the disease management.

In September 2005 an International Meeting on “Targeted Therapies in Cancer: Myth or Reality” was held in Milan. This successful Meeting was intended to represent a forum for scientists and clinicians working in cancer drug discovery and therapy to share their reflections and experiences on how the paradigm shift from empiricism to molecular targeted therapies is contributing to the translation of basic knowledge into new therapies for cancer patients. This book collects the contributions given by scientists and clinicians, from Academia and Industry, who participated to this Meeting.

We hope that this book contributes to improve our approach to cancer drug discovery and, ultimately, to find new, more efficacious and better tolerated drugs for cancer patients. It provides an overview of diverse approaches ranging from drug discovery to cellular therapy. Although this change in paradigm has been useful, its entry into the clinical arena was associates with unforeseen problems including the emergence of resistance, unexpected side effects and failures. Time is therefore ripe for a critical cultural reflection on the state of the art, prospects and limitations. Ultimately, is targeted therapy in cancer a myth or a reality?

Cardiac aging, like aging in general, is a complex process involving numerous cellular and molecular changes, which along the way contribute to the expression of the multiple phenotypes of aging, “the different faces” of cardiac aging. Several plausible theories have been considered to explain aging, e.g., evolution, free radical, somatic mutation, etc; and at this time it is most likely that these different theories are intertwined with each other without a definitive “winner”, reflecting a mixture of genetic and epigenetic elements found in most aged individuals with cardiovascular defects. The demonstration in numerous animal models of the dramatic alterations in life-span achieved by gene engineering or dietary modifications, such as caloric restriction, further underscores the interplay of both genetic and environmental factors involved in aging, as well as acting through molecular and signaling pathways operative in the heart and the vasculature.

Aging and decreasing heart function occurring together has been amply documented, and our knowledge of age associated cardiac pathologies has outpaced our understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying these processes. At present, genomics, proteomics and recombinant DNA techniques are increasingly applied to the study of cardiac cell structure and function. Their role in aging, in general, and in the aging heart, in particular, will finally be unveiled. With the availability of the Human Genome Project, and an ever increasing number of animal models and new and exciting molecular technologies, the unraveling of the underlying basic mechanisms of cardiac aging have already begun. In this book, the genetic and molecular basis of cardiovascular aging will be discussed and a comprehensive assessment of the bioenergetics changes occurring in human and animal models of cardiac aging, current diagnostic and future therapeutic modalities will be presented.

Undoubtedly in the past 10-20 years, impact of foodborne pathogens has been overwhelming because of high rate of fatalities, illnesses, and the fear of being exposed to incurable infective agents or toxins. Rapid growth in the centralized food production industries, aggressive agricultural practices and changes in food consumption habits are contributing factors for the emergence of increased foodborne infections by new or old pathogens resulting in several outbreaks, product recalls and economic losses. These events prompted increased research activities to understand the pathogens and their pathogenic mechanisms, and prevention and control strategies. Modern molecular tools also facilitated our understanding of the function and regulations of virulent or other accessory genes. Above all, the complete genome sequence of several important foodborne pathogens helped unravel the molecular basis of pathogenesis.

Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens: Mechanisms and Pathogenisis will be a graduate level textbook focusing on up-to-date information on molecular and cellular mechanism of several major foodborne bacterial pathogens, virulence genes and their regulation in the host or the food environment, pathogenicity testing models, clinical symptoms and prevention and control strategies. In order to understand the disease process, one must have certain understanding about the role of immune system in the disease process. Thus, unlike other textbooks this book will also cover the host parasite interaction to a level where the readers would have better appreciation for the disease mechanism. For the first time a book will link foodborne illness and immunology.

Traditionally, food science or food microbiology has been perceived as a applied science and thus most research programs or teaching curricula did not include topics related to molecular aspect of pathogenesis or mechanism of disease production or survival strategies in food or the host or the influence of food production or processing on pathogens behavior. It is simply because of the lack of adequate knowledge on these topics. As the knowledge base grew and the potential impact of food environment on pathogens behavior is realized, more and more food microbiology training began to emphasize the importance of the basic research and its power of solving practical problems. Therefore, to move this field forward, it is imperative for students, educators and the industry personnel alike to acquire a better understanding of the foodborne pathogens. Hopefully concerted efforts would eventually help formulate strategies that would one day resolve problems with foodborne outbreaks, infections and mortalities.

This handbook provides a short, clear, useful and interesting guide to the findings in renal biopsy specimens. It is intended to be of practical help primarily to pathologists and trainee pathologists who look at these specimens, but also to nephrologists and transplant surgeons and their trainees, medical students, and others who have contact with anyone with renal disorders, including nurses on nephrology, dialysis and transplant units, and pharmacists.

This handbook shows how a diagnosis can be reached on a renal biopsy specimen and what information taken from a specimen is clinically significant and helpful. It shows how the diagnosis can be made starting from simple information, the clinical indication for biopsy, followed by interpretation of changes seen in the specimen. The emphasis is on common conditions and on the rule that diseases give characteristic clinical features.

Essential information needed for an understanding of renal disorders is given simply and concisely. This includes accounts of the clinical presentation of renal disorders, their causes and pathogenesis, and their likely outcome. Other features include practical tips on the differentiation between possible diagnoses and information about eponyms.

Retinal Degenerations is the result of The International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration which has become perhaps the most important research meeting in the field. The topics in this volume explore the etiology, cellular mechanisms, epidemiology, generics, models and potential therapeutic measures for the blinding diseases of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

Special focus is highlighted in the areas of Mechanisms of Photoreceptor Degeneration and Cell Death (extremely important because very little is known how or why photoreceptors die in these diseases, despite an abundance of genetic information), Age-Related Macular Degeneration (with several novel approaches to its analysis), Usher Syndrome (the most severe form of retinitis pigmentosa, which includes an early of congenital loss of hearing along with blindness), and Gene Therapy. In addition, the section on Basic Science Related to Retinal Degeneration is particularly strong with several laboratories reporting on new discoveries in the area of outer segment phagocytosis, a key component of photoreceptor-retinal pigment epithelial cell interactions in normal and degenerating retinas.

Ocular Surface Diseases is the first definitive text on the medical and surgical management of ocular surface diseases, with a special emphasis on stem cell deficiency disorders. The editors are world-renowned corneal specialists who have recruited leaders in the field of ocular surface disease to contribute chapters. These chapters are formatted for consistency, heavily illustrated, and uniformly captioned for ease of use by the reader. The book’s emphasis is on clear diagnostic and therapeutic classifications, and inclusiveness of differing techniques. For the practicing ophthalmologist, both corneal specialists in the academic setting and general ophthalmologists, this is the first authoritative text on state-of-the-art techniques in the management of ocular surface disorders.

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A new, comprehensive review of the radiographic examination of the post-operative GI tract. Organized on an organ by organ basis, emphasis is placed on conventional studies, supplemented by cross-sectional imaging. Operative techniques and normal post-operative anatomy are depicted with many schematic line drawings. Normal changes, as well as early and late complications are discussed and abundantly illustrated. A must have reference for general radiologists, specialists in gastrointestinal surgery and radiology medical libraries.

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