valuable for their information on the limitations of many of the drugs, and approaches used in trials and how they may be remedied.
The final section contains three interesting chapters. The first of these is devoted to the potential benefit of herbal medicine in schizophrenia with an emphasis on Chinese herbal medicines. It is only in recent years that Western medicine has begun to acknowledge the potential importance of traditional Chinese medicines, particularly now that many of the active ingredients have now been isolated and their pharmacological and therapeutic potential investigated. The authors of this chapter summarise the clinical evidence for L-stepholidine, huperzine-A and a standardised extract of Ginkgo biloba. They summarise the clinical evidence that the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia may respond beneficially to such drugs.
The second chapter in this section on the adverse effects of antipsychotics with a particular emphasis on the secondgeneration drugs. This is a useful and extensive summary of the adverse effects.
The final chapter, entitled 'Meta musings on methodology', is a short but particularly pertinent and valuable conclusion to the monograph. The section on 'Criticisms of assumptions about clinical trial methodology', and 'Thoughts on alternative study designs' are particularly thought provoking! This chapter concludes with the important message that 'Clinical trials deserve periodic re-examination for their relevance, contribution and plasticity', a view that clearly summarises the intention of many of the contributors to this interesting volume.
In conclusion, this is a valuable addition to the monographs on clinical trial methodology and should be essential reading for all those undertaking trials of psychotropic drugs. The chapters are clearly written, the references are up-to-date and the volume comes at a price of under £50.