Common, serious diseases

HOW TO PREVENT COMMON SERIOUS DISEASES: Dr. Ajit S. Puri; Sterling Publishers (P) Ltd., L-10, Green Park Extension, New Delhi-110016. Rs. 250.

THIS IS an exhaustive review of the common but serious illnesses affecting the Indian populace such as cancer, cardiac diseases, epilepsy, from the perspective of prevention rather than treatment. Addressing the general public the author adopts a generic format consisting of an introduction to each illness, followed by a description of the symptoms, the diagnostic modalities, treatment and prevention methodologies. An attempt has been made by way of black and white sketches, tables and appendices to boost the textual information and create visual interest. Individual case discussions introduce a practical note and illustrate the problems of the individual disease.

Insofar as the professional contents of the book are concerned, it must be said that the author has adopted a rather uncritical approach to technical information. A greater degree of sifting of the scientific evidence and the presentation of the validity of various preventive modalities would have been welcome.

While the presentation and printing are visually pleasing, the editorial effort could have been improved, with special reference to the errors in sentence construction.

UMA KRISHNASWAMY

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