Computer Applications in Medicine

This volume, edited by the Professor of Medical Biochemistry and Pharmacology at The University of Birmingham (England) presents the full text of 54 papers read at The Seventh International Conference on Biochemical Problems of Lipids held at Birmingham in July, 1962. Included also are the more important portions of the discussion following each paper, and a good subject index. The first three sections are concerned mainly with the stated theme of the conference, absorption of lipids from the intestine. Among the topics covered in these sections are various aspects of the intestinal metabolism of bile salts, cholesterol and other sterols, triglycerides and phospholipids, and the role of intestinal cells in the hydrolysis and biosynthesis of lipids. Several papers present detailed descriptions (with excellent illustrations) of the fine structure of rat intestinal cells, and of the relationship between the fine structure and some of the enzymes of the intestinal mucosa that function in triglyceride and phospholipid metabolism. In addition, there are several papers (Section IV) concerned with the composition and behavior of chylomicrons and various serum lipoproteins. Papers dealing with more specialized aspects of lipid metabolism in animals (Section V and VI) include a long review of the role proposed for mitochondrial lipids in electron transport and in oxidative phosphorylation, reports on fat or phospholipid metabolism in liver, brain, and adipose tissue, a study of the relation of diet to the lipid constituents of cell membranes, and several papers on the metabolism of unsaturated fatty acids. Two papers are devoted to special aspects of fatty acid metabolism in microorganisms. It may also be noted that the volume opens with a short series of papers describing the application of thin-layer chromatography to the separation and quantitation of naturally occurring lipids (including cholesterol, bile acid derivatives, triglycerides, phospholipids and fatty acids). This newly-developed technique shows promise as a very helpful tool in the difficult field of lipid analysis. Because the conference brought together leading biochemists, physiologists, and pathologists from some nine European countries, Argentina, Japan, and the United States, this record of their deliberations provides a readily available summary of authoritative views (current in 1962) on the problems under discussion. The publishers of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta are to be congratulated on the standard set by this book as Volume I of the newly established BBA-Library. SOFIA SIMMONDS