Volume Editor: Ashley Grossman, MD; Senior Editors: J. Larry Jameson, MD; Leslie J. De Groot, MD; Ashley Grossman, MD; Harald Juppner, MD; David de Kretser, MD; John C. Marshall, MD; Shlomo Melmed, MD; John T. Potts, Jr., MD; Gordon C. Weir, MD    
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 291 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

Forty specialists in endocrinology and related fields from the United States, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and United Kingdom have contributed a large amount of material on the adrenal gland for this book. There are a lot of books out there on endocrinology but few that focus on the adrenal gland. And this is one of the most thorough on this medical subspecialty.

Here are some of the benefits of this book for you:

  1. Stay abreast of the newest knowledge and advances, including:
  • the molecular genetics of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas
  • the newest therapies for adrenocortical carcinoma, written by the organizers of the first major international trials
  • a survey of adrenal imaging, authored by the world’s major diagnostic imaging specialist on cross-sectional computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scanning of the adrenal gland
  • a comprehensive survey of adrenarche and the adrenopause – topics not adequately covered in most other adrenal endocrinology books
  1. Count on all the authority that has made Endocrinology: Adult and Pediatric, 6th edition, edited by Drs. Jameson and De Groot the go-to clinical reference for endocrinologists worldwide.
  2. Make the best clinical decisions with an enhanced emphasis on evidence-based practice in conjunction with expert opinion.

Presented in 16 chapters, the coverage encompasses the following topics:

  • The principles, enzymes, and  pathways of human steroidogenesis
  • Glucocorticoid action: physiology
  • Glucocorticoid receptors: their mechanisms of action and glucocorticoid resistance
  • Aldosterone: secretion and action
  • Glucocorticoid therapy
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Adrenal causes of hypercortisolism
  • Defects of adrenal steroidogenesis
  • Adrenarche and adrenopause
  • Adrenal gland imaging
  • Adrenocortical carcinoma
  • Primary mineralocorticoid excess syndromes and hypertension
  • Mineralocorticoid deficiency
  • Pheochromocytoma
  • Adrenal surgery
  • Cushing’s Syndrome

This book is easy to use as a reference source, with topics presented at the beginning of each chapter and discussed with visuals such as charts and figures; and relevant data provided in tables. Endocrinology is a complex subject, and so, an unusually large list of reference works is presented at the end of the chapters. For example, 245 sources of materials are provided in the Reference section at the end of chapter 1.

All in all, this is an excellent resource on the adrenal gland, thanks to the work of the editors and the 40 authors of the 16 chapters of this book in six countries.

Volume Editor:
Ashley Grossman, BA, BSc, MD, FRCP, FMedSci is Professor of Neuroendocrinology in the Endocrinology section of St. Batholomew’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom.