the negative aspects of the neuroleptics then available. Undoubtedly neuroscience has had a major impact on all aspects of treatment, from the development of safe and more effective drugs to an appraisal of the genetics of schizophrenia and the application of neuroimaging methods to understand the nature of the pathology.
There are many monographs and textbooks that describe research into the biological basis of schizophrenia together with the properties and limitations of the drugs used to treat the condition. However, the present volume is fairly unique in providing all the essential information that is required to treat patients at all stages of their illness and under all clinical circumstances. The Editors have achieved this by bringing together a group of 45 experts, from both the USA and Europe, to cover the major areas of research and clinical practice. In addition, the views of the patient suffering from schizophrenia, together with a review of the different systems of care and the influences of culture, are also discussed.
The breadth of the subjects covered in this volume is too wide to give anything but a superficial overview of this excellent volume. In brief, the 24 chapters can be divided into the clinical management of the patient (excellent chap-ters on rehabilitation, optimal management of early psychosis, affective aspects of the disorder and suicidal behaviour, managing the acutely disturbed and violent patient for example), treatment options (a particularly good review of the atypical antipsychotics will appeal to readers of this journal for example), biological aspects of the disorder (covering the psychopathology and pharmacogenetic aspects) and social issues (such as the systems of care in different countries, cultural influences and economic perspectives). The monograph concludes with a short, but thought provoking chapter on 'Curing schizophrenia, treating schizophrenia and translating research into practice'.
This book deserves to become a major source of information not only to academic psychiatrists and those in clinical training, but also to those experimental psychopharmacologists who all too frequently fail to realise that there is more to this disorder than a dopamine receptor or a gene product isolated from the brain of a healthy white rat.