Indian Journal of Pharmacology 1997; 29: 439

BOOKS REVIEW
From the biological clock to Chrono-pharmacology, by Bjom Lemmer, Published by Medpharm
Scientific Publishers, Stuttgart 1996. ISBN 3-88763051 -3, p.206.

A Practical Approach to PG Dissertation, by

R. Raveendran and B. Gitanjali. Published by Jaypee
Brothers, New Delhi. ISBN 81-7179-517-X, p.156,
Rs. 100.

The book contains the proceedings of an inaugural

symposium on the same topic held in Mannheim,
Germany on November 10th, 1995. Contributions
from many leading scientists in the field of chronobiology makes this book essential reading for any
serious researcher in circadian rhythms. The chapter
on molecular biology of circadian clocks discusses
the latest findings in the field on molecular clock
mechanisms. The book also describes models on
which to carry out circadian research, which is a
boon for scientists wanting to venture into this field.
About three fourths of the book is devoted to various
aspects of chronopharmacology. Hypertension and
the impact of various antihypertensives on blood
pressure variations during 24 hours, the chronobiology of gastric acid secretion and the importance
of timing anticancer therapy are all discussed in
individual chapters. The last chapter is devoted to
Seasonal Affective Disorders and the dramatic improvement demonstrated with light therapy. Fatal
familial insomnia is described in detail as a chronobiological model for secondary hypertension. The
strengths of the book lie in the numerous clinical
examples, extensive references at the end of each
chapter and diagrams which are easy to interpret.
Each chapter begins by tracing the early history
and developments and ends with the current status
of research and future prospects in that area. However, a beginner to this field will find difficulty in
understanding the terminology used and the conventional methods of denoting activity and rest. A
glossary at the end would have been useful. The
chapters on chronopharmacology also do not elaborate on the difficulties of extrapolating data from
chronokinetic and chronopharmacodynamic experiments to clinical situations. This would have given
the book an extra dimension and made it useful
to clinicians too. However it will serve as a valuable
addition to libraries of medical colleges.

Here is a step by step presentation of basic principles

of research methodology. There are 14 chapters
dealing with the subject and seven appendices which
are mostly reproductions of important related matters
from authentic sources.

Dr. B. Gitanjali
Department of Pharmacology
JIPMER
Pondicherry - 605 006

Prof. V. Vijayasekaran
35, Thirumurthy Street
T. Nagar
Madras

The authors have taken care to define and explain

scientific terms handled in the text including the
most common ones such as dissertation, hypothesis, screening of patients etc. Every possible practical aspect of P.G. dissertation has been carefully
thought of, starting from choosing of a topic to the
stage of writing up of the dissertation, critically analysed and presented in simple language with illustrative examples.
Each chapter uniformly has a title and starts with
a list of sub-headings which indicates to the reader
the contents of the entire chapter at a glance.The
boxes, figures, flowcharts and check lists which appear frequently along with the text make it easy
to remember the importent aspects of the subject.
Statistics has been carefully introduced without the
jargon of high style statistical language
I wish the authors have cited some examples from
other branches of medicines as well such as General
Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pathology,
etc. along with Pharmacology related ones. This
would increase the appreciation of this excellent
research guide by the PG students of other branches
also. There are certain ambiguities in usage of terms
like protocol at page 58 and informed consent
form at page 62 which the authors can make it
more clear in the future edition.
In my opinion this book is a down-to-earth practical
guide and a must buy book for the medical P.G.
students and staff to ensure quality research.