Cell Death and Diseases of the Nervous System

edited by William M. Pardridge, 486 pp., ill., New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 1998, $135.00

There are certain concepts that form the basic fund of scientific knowledge important to both clinicians and researchers in neurosciences. The majority would most likely nod knowingly if the terms “selective vulnerability” or “blood–brain barrier” were mentioned, but if asked to define either one, would likely falter or produce a garbled definition. That no longer need be the case, at least for the blood–brain barrier, for Dr. Pardridge has assembled an international group of basic scientists, pathologists, and clinicians, each of whom has produced a brief chapter focusing on a specific issue, thus creating a comprehensive book elucidating all important aspects of the subject.

The book is divided into five parts that follow a superb introductory chapter by Dr. Pardridge. Chapters 2 through 17 deal with methodology, some of which provide technical details that will not be of interest to all readers but are of great value to those who wish to use these techniques. Some authors go beyond simply discussing the facts per se. For example, Cornford introduces his chapter with a brief and fascinating historical review of the development of the carotid artery single injection technique.

Part II consists of nine chapters that address various aspects of transport biology. Each of these is a gem and should be required reading for clinical neuroscientists, even though some contain complex biochemistry.

There are four sections in Part III, each of which focuses attention on general aspects of CNS transport. These four chapters are worth the price of the book. One describes the blood–CSF barrier and the choroid plexus; the next discusses the role of the leptomeninges and includes a brief history of how the two separate membranes acquired their names. The other two chapters, …