j. soc. cos. CHEM. 15, 353-358 (1964) BOOK REVIEWS CHEMISTRY AND THERAPY OF COL- LACEN DISE^SES by David H. Neustadt, with contributions by Jerome Rotstein. American Lec- ture Series, No. 520. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Ill. 1963. 161 pages. Price $7.50. In the words of Dr. Neustadt, "This book represents an attempt to describe the current important biochemical contributions related to the pathology and therapy of 'col- lagen' diseases." These diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, sys- temic lupus erythematosus, peri- afteriris nodosa and diffuse sclero- derma. In addition, Dr. Rotstein briefly discusses diseases with agam- maglobulinemia and the biochem- istry of connective tissue. This slender volume is primarily a reference book. In dealing with a subject of this magnitude, the problem of selection is of. pa. ra- mount importance, as it is •m- possible to include all the pertinent data, as the authors themselves realize. Proper selection is an in- dividual and often subjective deci- sion. Nevertheless, in a short trea- tise the inclusion of recent articles and of good reviews is generally useful. On both of these counts the book falls short. For reasons, re- lated probably in part to the lag period between writing and publica- tion, there are less than a dozen references from 1961, the most re- cent date excellent reviews on the topic have not been included. It is therefore not clear for whom the book is intended. It is inadequate for the research chemist and too involved for most practicing physi- cians. In the chapters of possible interest to the cosmetic chemist, errors and omissions occur. On page 13, the composition of chon- droitin sulfate B •s incorrectly stated, a puzzling error, as the right statement is made 2 pages later. On page 16, the biochemistry of Hutlet's disease is erroneous. A glossary of terms at the end ex- plains "protein" but does not men- tion "PAS stain." In spite of these shortcomings, the book is distinguished by an unusually lucid style and organiza- tion. The illustrations are well chosen and beautifully reproduced. As an introduction into a fascinat- ing field of medicine, the book serves a good purpose. It is not intended for the cosmetic chemist, who would find recent reviews on the bio- chemistry of connective tissue more rewarding for his purposes.--PETER FLESCH. BIOCHEMISTRY OF SKIN IN HEALTH ^ND DISEASE by Christopher Car- ruthers, American Lectures in Liv- ing Chemistry Monograph. Charles C Thomas Co., Springfield, Ill. 1962. 263 pages, indexed and illus- trated. Price $9.75. Biochemistry of the skin has received much research attention in recent years. Implications for clinical medicine and cosmetic tech- nology are becoming clearly evi- dent. This book reviews the cur- rent status of the field but is of uneven quality. Of the nine chap- ters, eight are devoted to normal 353

354 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS skin and one to certain skin diseases. The initial chapter on "Ultrastruc- ture of Human Epidermis and Hair Follicles" is comprehensive and well presented with excellent il- lustrations. The chapter on"Kera- tinization and Proteins" seems in- complete without some discussion of turnover rates of epidermis or hair. The chapter on "Pigmenta- tion" discusses the chemistry of melanin formation and its hormonal control. The discussion of pig- mentation caused by ultraviolet irradiation focuses on the inflam- matory processes, with scarce men- tion of how pigmentation is medi- ated chemically. The chapter on "Lipid Composi- tion" is mainly an uncritical com- pilation of data. The discussion of control of sebaceous flow is out of date. The chapter on "Enzymes" is poorly organized. It is presented in an historical fashion with later portions contradicting earlier con- clusions. A chapter on "Water, Minerals, pH and Sweat" is well presented, although discussion of sweating and acclimatization is very brief. The chapter on "Connective Tissue" is well done and quite complete. The chapter on "Human Hair" is very superficial in its treatment of the organic chemistry of keratin. A discussion of hair waving curiously focuses mainly on the swelling be- havior of hair in thioglycolate solu- tions. No estimates are given of hair growth rates. The final chap- ter on "Diseases of the Skin" is adequate. The book has the usual number of typographical errors, but in addi- tion, the author's grammatical con- struction is frequently poor (even for a scientific book). The book makes good use of numerous tables to present data concisely. How- ever, frequently the text dwells too much on specific experimental de- tails and uses unexplained symbols or abbreviations. Overall, the prin- cipal value of the book to those interested in cosmetics is the ex- tensive bibliography following each chapter.--PAu•. FINKELSTEIN, The Toni Co. DANGEROUS PROPERTIES OF IN- DUSTRIAL MATERIALS by N. Irving Sax. 2nd Edition, Reinhold Pub- lishing Corp., New York 22, N.Y. 1963. 1232 pages. Price $25. The first 375 pages of this volume are devoted to a description of such diverse subjects as toxicology, venti- lation control, respiratory protec- tion, a•r pollution, radiation hazards, fire protection, storage and handling of hazardous materials, reactor safeguards, allergic diseases, food additives and various shipping regulations. These chapters are di- rected not at experts in these specific areas and should prove helpful to the uninitiated. The chapters on allergic disease and food additives are, of course, interesting to cos- metic chemists. To them, and presumably to all who manufacture or develop consumer products, pages 272 to 275 must come as a serious shock: It is known that, under cer- tain conditions, almost any chemi- cal or finished product can cause contact dermatitis in at least some individuals. On these pages a vari- ety of contact allergens are listed: poison ivy, oranges, peanuts, hand lotion, toothpaste, wool, glycerin, paraphenylenediamine, etc. It is obvious that such a listing is un- warranted because the incidence of allergic disease should have been taken into account. In other words, although an occasional in- dividual may be allergic to tomatoes (which are included in this list), the frequency of allergy to poison ivy is much higher therefore, the two should not be lumped together