'A thoroughly enjoyable and very useful work. As the editors say in their preface, 'we have intended these reviews to be the best by the best'-they make this point very convincingly.' -ASM News, from a review of Volume 1 This series continues to present the most current findings in the field of immune manipulation. Here, twelve chapters provide detailed coverage of cancer, microbial, and allergy immunopharmacology as well as autoimmunity and neuroimmunomodulation.
Immunopharmacology as a field of scientific endeavor had its origins more than thirty years ago in the application of antibody-based techniques to assays of hormones and drugs in tissues and body fluids. More recently, the field has been redefined to include a primary focus on the immune system as a target of xenobiotic action. Advances in the field of immunology have made it apparent that the immune system, like other organ systems, declines in its function as a result of aging, viral infections like AIDS, and other immunotoxic influences, giving rise to secondary immunodeficiency. Deficiencyof the immune system in turn leads to infections, autoimmune diseases, and an increased incidence of certain cancers. The notion of treating the failing immune system is relatively new; however, more than a decade of research on cancer and AIDS has created the burgeoning new clinical field of immunotherapy. Immunopharmacology then stands as the preclinical and clinical science of immune manipulation. As such, like its parent field of pharmacology, it includes within its scope basic studies of immune mechanisms as they relate to the pathogenesis of inflammation and immunologic disturbances. As with pharma cology, the perspective is always a therapeutic one. Studies of immune and inflammatory processes emphasize the use of pharmacologic probes and drugs to elucidate the underlying biochemical pharmacology.
This textbook provides a unique support in gaining essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The first section of the book, covering a basic introduction to immunology and its relevance for human disease, has been updated to accommodate new immunological concepts. The second section on immunodiagnostics has been further expanded to describe widely used molecular techniques and is followed by a systematic coverage of drugs affecting the immune system, revised to cover recent developments. The book concludes with a chapter on immunotoxicology. This third edition continues the unique format dealing with four related topics in a single volume, obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks. New aids to the reader include a two-column format, glossaries of technical terms and appendix reference tables. The emphasis on illustrations is maintained from the first edition.
Leading experts provide the only comprehensive book examining all aspects of immune response and immune-based treatments for HIV infection. Contributions, divided into three sections, discuss basic mechanisms, immunopathogenesis of HIV infection, and immune-based therapies. Researchers thoroughly review vaccine-including prospects of T cell vaccine-and gene therapy for HIV infection. Additional topics include organization of HIV genes, the role of co-receptors in signaling of lymphocytes, and biological response modifiers. This reference is designed for basic and clinical researchers, internists, pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, neuropathologists, oncologists, and rheumatologists.
This reference book provides updated information about different immunomodulators for managing fish health and sustainable aquaculture. Immunomodulators are dietary additives that enhance innate defense mechanisms and increase resistance against specific pathogens and diseases. The book covers the different types of immunostimulants, their modes of action, and their efficacies. It also reviews safety concerns, ethical regulations, limitations, and outreach to farmers. It discusses the application of herbal immunomodulators, antioxidants, pre- and pro-biotics, in disease management. Features: • Reviews the pressing topic of reduction of antibiotic use in aquaculture • Discusses herbal immunomodulators, nutrients, antioxidants and pre- and pro-biotics • Covers the topic of progressive immunomodulation using nanotechnology • Discusses fish health management in the ever-growing aquaculture industry • Includes natural and synthetic immunomodulators The book is meant for researchers and industry experts in aquaculture, fisheries science, and veterinary medicine.
The second edition of this text has been revised and refocused to reflect the transformation of immunotoxicology from a subdiscipline of toxicology to an independent area of research that can best be described as "environmental immunology." New chapters discuss the role of immune mediators in liver, lung, and skin toxicity, in regulating chemical- metabolizing enzymes, and in the immunosuppression produced by ultraviolet light. More emphasis is placed on the clinical consequences of immunotoxicity, as well as the interpretation of experimental data for predicting, human health risk.; The second edition is divided into three major sections: immunosuppression, autoimmunity, and hypersensitivity. This new organization of the text allows for a more thorough treatment of these phenomena, with greater attention to test methods, theoretical considerations, and clinical implications. The book includes many chapters on specific environmental agents, therapeutic drugs, biological agents, and drugs of abuse, as well as on immune-mediated toxicity in specific organ systems.
The second volume in this long-running series presents the usual critical and intensive review chapters divided into five sections but also addresses particular topics of special interest, including drugs and their use, and misuse, among the aged; the nonmedication orientation to treatment of various disorders; the immune system; and clinical procedures in the management of urinary incontinence. As with all the volumes, the contributors represent an international array of leading experts.
