Book Reviews

Cerebrovascular Disease: Momentum at the End of the Second Millennium

edited by Dennis W. Choi, MD, PhD; Ralph G. Dacey, Jr, MD; Chung Y. Hsu, MD, PhD; and William Powers, MD,
455 pp., Armonk, NY, Futura Publishing, 2001, $125

Cerebrovascular Disease: Momentum at the End of the Second Millennium is part of an American Heart Association monograph series. It is a summation of information presented at the 21^st Princeton Conference on Cerebrovascular Disease held in St. Louis, MO, on May 7 to 10, 1998. The book, as was the conference, is divided into eight sections with three to seven short chapters per section. The section topics are variable, ranging from clearly clinical topics such as extracranial–intracranial bypass surgery and clinical treatment trials to more basic science/animal research studies such as mediators and modulators of ischemic injury and delayed neuronal death.

“Section I. Extracranial–Intracranial Bypass Surgery: Time for a New Clinical Trial” explores the rationale for reintroducing extracranial–intracranial bypass surgery as a potential therapy for patients with internal carotid artery occlusion based on information gained from new neuroimaging techniques, namely, PET scanning. In fact, the Carotid Occlusion Surgery Study has been funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and is randomizing patients. “Section II. Mediators and Modulators of Ischemic Injury: Hot Topics” discusses the roles of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and superoxide dismutase in cerebral ischemia and the potential neuroprotectant roles of estrogens and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors. The titles of the next two sections, “Section III. White Matter Ischemia—Unique Mechanisms of Injury?” and “Section IV. Inflammation,” are fairly self-explanatory. However, …