All About Arthritis [Paperback]

Derrick Brewerton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0674016165 | ISBN-13: 978-0674016163

This book--intended to dispel the mystique and folklore surrounding arthritis--is the first to explain clearly the scientific aspects of arthritis research and treatment. Brewerton tells the intriguing story of arthritis research, from the days before germs were recognized as causes of disease and when reasons for inflammation were obscure, to the present, when breakthroughs in genetics, epidemiology, X-ray crystallography, cell biology, and molecular biology support major advances in research and treatment. He also addresses the human element, discussing the role in arthritis of such factors as age, gender, emotions, pain, and personality. Brewerton ends the story on a hopeful note, carefully explaining the prospects for prevention and treatment.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Over 100 million people suffer the pain and disability of arthritis. Brewerton, a distinguished British rheumatologist, aims to provide a more detailed understanding of this complex disease than brief office visits can provide. He focuses on scientific research into the causes of the various forms of arthritis, ranging from the discoveries of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch to the work of Pamela Bjorkman, a young Harvard Ph.D. Although Brewerton provides a thorough examination of the scientific background of arthritis, his title promises far more than the book delivers. Readers seeking practical guidance on arthritis treatment and prevention will have to look elsewhere. The Duke University Medical Center Book of Arthritis ( LJ 3/15/92) and Fred Kantrowitz's Taking Control of Arthritis ( LJ 11/1/90) will be more useful choices for most libraries.
- Kathy Arsenault, Univ. of South Florida-St. Petersburg Lib.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

[Brewerton] skillfully guides us through the complexities of bacteria, viruses, and host defense; the nervous system; the structure and function of joints; the mosaic of factors involved in arthritis; and the prospects for new forms of therapy. He is particularly elegant when dealing with the complex (and controversial) influence of personality and emotion.
--D. A. Isenberg (Nature )

This book...is written so attractively and with such a sense of wonder and delight at the challenges [of ] arthritic conditions.
--Manfred Harth, M.D. (Canadian Medical Association Journal )

[This] is a thoroughly good read putting much current research and concept into perspective and supplying many of the facts which even the most assiduous of rheumatologists may have failed to grasp...The immense factual load of the book is disguised in a style of story-telling which focuses, to a great extent, on some truly remarkable individuals...The reader is left in no doubt that research in arthritis is feverishly active and fascinating.
--A. Keat (British Journal of Rheumatology )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (July 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674016165
• ISBN-13: 978-0674016163
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,454,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can I give this book extra stars? It's one of the greats., March 5, 1999

By 

George D. Girton (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All About Arthritis (Paperback)

If you're at all interested in medical science, reading this book will be a wonderful experience. I would expect this to be true even if you don't have arthritis (I don't).

I learned quite a bit about the immune system, the nervous system, and about how first-rate minds think about research problems. Of course, I also learned about arthritis, too, as you might expect.

What I think I will remember best, though, is the letter from Pamela Bjorkman in chapter 20, where she describes her work, over the course of 8 years, in determining the structure of the HLA protein molecule using X-ray crystallography.

No, that's not true, I'll remember having my mind engaged, thinking along with Derrick Brewerton, as he lays out the research into arthritis, researcher by researcher, step by step. Chapter 20 will still be an exciting high point, though.

And this might sound funny, but I particularly enjoyed seeing pictures of all the researchers in scientific medicine, from Pasteur to the present day.

Since each chapter was quite famously interesting, I hope you don't mind if I list the table of contents so you can get a better idea of the scope and focus of this eminently re-readable book:

Prologue

1. The Search for Germs

2. The Body's Defenses

3. Joints and Arthritis

4. Bacteria, Alive or Dead

5. Tales of Ticks in America

6. Access to the Joints

7. Three Key Diseases

8. The Many Faces of Arthritis

9. One Gene, One Disease

10. Joint failure

11. Age and Sex

12. Other Common Causes of Pain

13. Adrenal Hormones

14. The Nervous System

15. Personality, Emotions, and Pain

16. Populations and Families

17. Self and Nonself

18. The Race for Answers

19. DNA, RNA and Proteins

20. The Beauty of Crystals

21. Cells in Action

22. Truth is Rarely Simple

23. Prospects for Prevention and Treatment

Some Common Disorders

Glossary

Sources and Suggested Readings

Voluntary Health Organizations