IGF and Nutrition in Health and Disease by M. Sue Houston, Eva L. Feldman, Jeffrey M. P. Holly

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Synopsis

The latest offering in the series providing health professionals with recent scientific findings, looks at how the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in conjunction with nutrition impacts metabolism and physiology in areas such as conception, postnatal growth, development, reproduction, and ageing. Researchers in these fields discuss the regulation of IGF-I by nutrition, the IGF axis in the fetus and neonate, nutrition and ISG-I in relation to bone health and disease, nervous system disorders, the kidney, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal diseases and parenteral nutrition, and mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy and the development of heart failure. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Guy E. Groblewski, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Description:This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the IGF system with respect to its role in nutritional health, development, and certain disease states.
Purpose:It is designed to underscore the relationship of the growth-promoting effects of the IGF system with changes in nutritional status throughout the lifecycle and during specific disease states. As such, this book provides a unique review of the IGF system as it applies to nutritional health and disease and will serve as an excellent reference to scientists in wide range of research specialties.
Audience:It is targeted to established basic researchers, clinical researchers, graduate students, and postdocs investigating the diverse aspects of cell proliferation and apoptosis in a variety of disease states. The chapters are written by leading scientists in their respected research areas. The emphasis placed on the relationship between the IGF system and overall nutritional status makes this book a unique and welcome addition to the field.
Features:The book begins with a detailed description of the IGF axis as a major growth promoting endocrine system, and then highlights the role of IGF and IGF-binding proteins in the growth of individual organ systems. Finally, the integral relationship of the IGF system with overall nutritional status is emphasized during many disease states that are manifested in alterations in cellular proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal disorders. Importantly, the authorsincorporate the major advances made in elucidating the molecular function of IGF at the cellular level to provide a mechanistic understanding of the role of the IGFs in normal and disease states.
Assessment:The strongest assets of the book are that it provides a comprehensive text that can be used by both the clinical and basic research community, and it emphasizes the IGF system with regard to overall nutritional health. Fusion of these concepts is highly significant to the targeted audience of basic and clinical scientists. Other books, including Insulin-Like Growth Factor Receptor Signalling by LeRoith, Zumkeller, and Baxter (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003) also address the basic and pathophysiological implications of IGF, but they are targeted mainly to the research community. The practical aspects of this book should be more appealing to the clinical community, especially with regard to translational research and therapeutic strategies.