Oxford Handbook of Endocrinology and Diabetes
Authors: Helen E Turner and John A H Wass
This is the OUP’s latest handbook offering which is bang up to date having only been published earlier this year.
As luck would have it, the book was to hand when a young lady consulted me the other day complaining of amenorrhoea after stopping her combined oral contraceptive. Looking into the problem closely, her cycle had actually been irregular before she had even started the pill, she appeared somewhat overweight and had some faint upper lip hair. She told me she would like to start a family soon - she had married a couple of years previously.
I explained that I thought she might have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and having scanned the relevant pages of the Oxford Handbook of Endocrinology and Diabetes (OHED), I sent her to have blood taken for a hormone profile. The following week when I saw her with the results, her LH was very high, FSH was low, but her prolactin was also slightly raised - the book states that this may occur in up to 30% of women with PCOS. I decided to send her to a gynaecologist for confirmation of the diagnosis and for advice about conception and gave her the address of a website she could browse for more information. The address of the PCOS association - www.pcosupport.org, is listed at the back of the book but this is an American site and http://www.womens-health.co.uk/pcos.htm may be more relevant to the UK surfer.
All the chapters are written in the same precise and concise manner and considering there were some twelve contributors, the editors have done a marvellous job of ensuring a uniform style. The book is easy to read, with headings and bullet points in use throughout. There are no colour illustrations but I have to say that one doesn’t really miss them. The layout keeps the reader’s interest and there are black and white line drawings, tables, charts and bar graphs, only where they complement the text.
My experience of the book is that it is easy to dip into and find what you need, thanks to the contents page and comprehensive index. Great value for money and another hit from OUP.
| Publisher: | OUP, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
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| Reviewer: | Dr Jeremy M Sager
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