Medicine All books
Jean Dausset
A Nod in the Direction of Life The Great HLA Adventure
Jean Daussets finding that white blood cells play an active role in immunization won him the Nobel Prize for Medicine and opened a new area of biological investigation, both in pure and in applied research. The HLA system harbours a unique peptide which may be regarded as the essence of the self in opposition to everything else much as the pineal gland was regarded as the seat of the soul by Descartes. The distinction between the self and the non-self is an essential one in immunology where an individuals defensive system must fight off foreign bodies while at the same time defending his or her own system. In his book, Jean Dausset recounts the story of his discovery and introduces the reader to other fascinating aspects of his life and work.
Bernard Roques
The Danger of Drugs
This book is the result of a study on drugs carried out by Bernard Roques at the request of the French Secretary of State for Health, Bernard Kouchner. The author has reviewed and summarised a large body of information from all over the world, so this is a thorough, detailed scientific examination of what is known today of the potential dangers, particularly for the brain, of toxic and psychotropic drugs including alcohol and tobacco which are often associated with the consumption of other drugs. Roques study will doubtless play a major role in public health discussions and decisions, particularly in the fight against alcoholism and nicotine addiction. Bernard Roques is a member of the French Académie des Sciences.
Jacques Rogé
Nietzsche's Syndrome
Nietzsche was a manic-depressive. This is the conclusion that one doctor, Professor Jacques Rogé has come to after reading the works of the great philosopher, in particular his autobiographical texts. In light of this diagnosis, he explains why the author of Joyful Wisdom continuously oscillated between periods of creative exultation and periods of melancholic depression. In particular, he draws out the essential role that this illness played in the explosion of Nietzsches genius.
Maurice Tubiana
Education and Life
This book is a reflection on the alarming fact that France has the highest level of violent deaths (from suicide, drugs, and road accidents) in all Europe among young people between 18 and 22 years old. Tubiana analyses the pleasure principle which runs through our culture and our values, the Freudian principle that demands the immediate satisfaction of our impulses. This brings him to denounce postmodern individualism which does not make any room for the collective interest. Maurice Tubiana is a world-reknowned oncologist and member of the French Academy of Science and the Academy of Medicine.
Denis Vincent
Asthma
"This little book will help demystify an illness that can be highly stressful; it should also encourage an easier form of dialogue with the patient's doctor." Impact Médecin
Pierre Pollak
Parkinson's Disease
There are many aspects of this disease : How does it operate and what causes it ? When does the trembling start ? What are the other symptoms ? What are the newest available treatments ? What can be done when medicines are no longer effective ? What about brain surgery ? Will it be possible one day to perform brain transplants ? With regard to the daily life of a patient suffering from Parkinsons Disease, what are the benefits of gymnastics and massages ? Is it still possible to drive ? Or hold down a job ? What is the best attitude for the people around the patient to adopt ? Pierre Pollak teaches neurology at the University Hospital of Grenoble.
William C. Dement, Christopher Vaughan
How to have a good night's sleep
For more than forty years, William Dement has been researching the subject of sleep and of sleep-related problems. According to Dement, if we dont sleep well, we cannot be healthy; but its impossible to sleep well if we dont know what disturbs our sleep patterns, or what we stand to gain from an adequate nights rest. We are careful about our diets and we make sure we get enough exercise. Yet we often forget that it is equally important to sleep well. Sleep is often sacrificed to the demands of our daily lives. Doctors still tend to minimise the physical, emotional and psychological risks that result from a failure to give sleep its due. This fundamental work by a world-renowned specialist enables us to find out how we should sleep, in order to feel better and keep healthy. William C. Dement is a world authority in the field of sleep and in the treatment of sleep disturbances. In the 1970s, he founded one of the earliest centres specialising in the study of sleep at Stanford University, in California. He continues to teach at Stanford. Christopher Vaughan is the author of How Life Begins : The Science of Life in the Womb.