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| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 44
| Issue : 2 | Page : 281 |
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Basic and clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Varsha Patel
Department of Pharmacology, NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
| Date of Web Publication | 16-Mar-2012 |
Correspondence Address:
Varsha Patel
Department of Pharmacology, NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
How to cite this article:
Patel V. Basic and clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Indian J Pharmacol 2012;44:281 |
 B. B. Gaitonde, B. V. Telang
Publishers: B. I. Publications Pvt. Ltd., First Edition, 2010,
ISBN 978-81-7225-332-5 (Paperback) pp.912
Two senior and very experienced academicians, Dr. B. B. Gaitonde and Dr. B. V. Telang, have brought out the extract of their reminiscences as teachers in the form of this textbook meant primarily for undergraduate medical students. It is also aimed as a basic pharmacology textbook for pharmacy students and to cater to the needs of postgraduate students in pharmacology or medicine. In a bid to present the information comprehensively, the book is made up of 74 chapters, grouped into 13 sections and 3 appendices.
The text is presented in a simple language making it easy to read and follow by the students. Most of the chapters give a fair idea about the pathophysiology of the disease so as to help in understanding the rationale of use of drugs and their therapeutic status in the condition being discussed. The schematic diagrams are simple to make it easy for the students to understand the topic and to reproduce them, if needed. In every chapter the important points are highlighted in pink boxes. Recently introduced drugs have been added in most of the chapters. The most remarkable feature of the book is "Points to Remember," which will help the readers to revise the chapter by going through them.
In the section on General Principles, introduction to drug policy is a useful topic. A brief historical perspective on pharmacology and its evolution would not be out of context. The concept of pharmacovigilance is described in the chapter on Drug Development. However, some information on pharmacovigilance program and Adverse Drug Reaction monitoring system in India would be welcome addition to the chapter on Drug Toxicity and Drug Interactions. In addition to usual description of drug use in pregnancy and children, chapter 74 appropriately emphasizes the importance of current issues, such as geriatric pharmacology and ethnic differences in drug responses, also.
The "Points to Remember" section may be made more interesting by specifically mentioning the remarkable features of the drugs/drug groups discussed in the chapter, including therapeutic status, common or serious reactions, important contraindications, and clinically significant drug interactions, and so on, as applicable. Adding multicolored diagrams would have made the book more attractive for the readers.
Overall, the book is a useful addition for the students of pharmacology.
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